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+ + + Women's Wear Daily :: July 3, 2003

NEW YORK -- Hilarie Burton has what many would consider a dream job. As one of MTV's most popular VJs, she has a plum gig for someone who turned 21 just two days ago. What's more, she's starring in a new TV series for the WB, and her boyfriend, Brian Terry, just popped the question.

It's all been a lot to fit into a relatively short time. After all, three years ago, the Virginia native was a freshman at Fordham University, majoring in poli-sci and English and seriously considered going into prison reform. Then, two weeks after arriving in Manhattan, she entered a contest that involved interviewing Carson Daly of "Total Request Live" for 30 seconds. Unlike most of the other contestants, she opted for something other than "Boxers or briefs?"

"If you find out you're adopted, which two rock stars do you pray are your parents?" she asked. Daly, who answered "Prince and Debbie Gibson," and the rest of MTV's crew were charmed. Within weeks, Burton was moonlighting as Daly's sidekick at various events, including the Video Music Awards. Eventually, she took over "TRL" duties. She still can't believe it happened like that. "I was this nobody kid off the streets, and they entrusted me with big deals," she says.

But has any of this gone to her head? Hardly. Burton admits to still being a little starstruck when someone she really admires enters the room. When Bono snuggled up to her on the red carpet, for example, she needed a moment afterwards to regain her composure. "I was a little verklempt," she says with a laugh. She also counts herself lucky that she has met three members (Jessie, Kelly and A.C.) of the original "Saved by the Bell" cast. And, like any flustered fan, the first time she bumped into Beyonce, she blurted out, "I love your music. You're great. I think you're cool." But by the time Beyonce responded with "You're a Southern girl, too," Burton had recovered enough to volley back in her typical cool-girl fashion, "Damn straight, B."

In between takes for this photo shoot at the MTV Beach House in the Hamptons, Burton burst into spot-on interpretations of Beyonce's sexy shakes in the "Crazy in Love" video with Jay Z. In fact, throughout the entire day, she absent-mindedly sang out lyrics to songs as varied as Fifties rock `n roll, Eighties power ballads and Nineties rap.

Since her finger is on the pulse of the newest music, it's surprising to learn that Burton had a delayed introduction to pop. Her parents kept a strict watch on their five children's intake of pop culture. "I grew up on the oldies," she says. "Until I started working at MTV, the only concert I'd been to was by the Four Tops and the Temptations." Her first tape was by Elvis Presley, and she still has his greatest hits in her iPod.

With the MTV calling card, she could direct-dial Gwen Stefani, Eve or P. Diddy if she wanted to, yet she says her ultimate interviews would be with Barbra Streisand or Martha Stewart. "I love Martha," she explains. "My goal is to make her cool for young women again."

But beyond riffing on stars many current MTV watchers probably aren't interested in, Burton knows what drives the music industry these days and she understands the role fashion plays in it. "I like videos where you can see a lot of different looks," she says. "That's why I like Beyonce's `Crazy in Love' video and Mya's `My Love is Like Whoa' with the dancing and the costume changes." No Doubt's "Underneath it All," with a makeup-free Stefani in a white undershirt and sheer skirt, also caught her eye.

When it comes to her own style, Burton has a few staples that she can't go without. "Cowboy boots are a must-have," she says. "They go on every trip with me." Another favorite is a vintage blue sari-like dress she picked up five years ago at a thrift store in Leesburg, Virginia. Recently, she found a city cobbler who can salvage her favorite pair of shoes, "these beautiful black Michel Perry stilettos that show toe cleavage," which she wrecked on a long walk one night.

Burton is into vintage, especially beaded looks a la the Twenties and Thirties or old Hollywood costumes. She recently bought a white Catherine Malandrino dress that reminds her of the iconic white number Grace Kelly wore in "To Catch a Thief." But for all the vintage evening dresses she has accumulated for proms and dances, she's most comfortable in the basics. "My go-to is jeans, heels and a cool top," she says.

With her laid-back style, girl-next-door looks and on-camera confidence, she's a natural for acting. It doesn't hurt that with her curly hair and slightly upturned nose, she could be Nicole Kidman's kid sister. In fact, this fall, Burton is making the jump from cable to prime-time in the WB's "One Tree Hill," a coming-of-age drama she says is in the same vein as cult classic "My So-Called Life." Scheduled to fill the void left by the end of "Dawson's Creek" with its over-intellectualized teens, the show features Burton as a 16-year-old cheerleader caught in a love triangle with two brothers.

Between shooting "One Tree Hill" in North Carolina and flying wherever MTV sends her, Burton likes to read and go thrift shopping in transit. All the traveling lets her indulge in another, more unusual interest, too. "Every city I go to, I like to get a book on its local ghost stories," she says, noting that good story-telling ability is something that she inherited from her father. "I anticipate going on a car trip with my kids and no matter where we are, I'll be able to tell them a story and freak them out," she says. "I'll be that mom who other kids won't be allowed around."