Questions &Amp; Answers: Big Girls Don't Cry

Anna Nicole Smith is back, big--and basking in it. The bodacious model, who's now posing for plus-size retailer Lane Bryant, turned up in Manhattan last week to unveil a billboard in--where else?--Times Square. Ads placed in the New York Times and other newspapers advertising the event (the tagline read "who knows... you might get lucky") caused such a mob of on-lookers that Smith was unable to leave her limo. She was, however, able to check in two days later with NEWSWEEK's Dharma Betancourt via phone. While the 32-year-old couldn't talk about her protracted court battles with the family of her second husband--billionaire oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, who died at 90 in 1995--she had plenty of thoughts on finding love, dealing with scandal and of course, her body.

You've modeled before--most famously, for Guess? jeans. How is this different?
It's womanly clothes, and well, I'm a woman now. I guess it's time for me to fill my shoes. I'm so glad to be back with a jeans campaign because when I wasn't working with Guess? anymore, I was really bummed. What's cool is that they're womanly jeans, so now I've got my curves, and I've got my curvish jeans.

Your event at the billboard caused a mob scene.
I was so excited, so amazed. It was incredible. But I couldn't get out and do what I had planned. They were going to put me up on a podium to show off the jeans, and hand out jeans. But it just got too crazy; it wasn't safe at all, so the cops didn't let me leave the car. I did hang out the window and blow a few kisses, though.

Lane Bryant's clothes have gotten a lot sexier, right?
They're more tight-fitting stuff now. They fit the curves of your body. And the bras are beautiful. They're great. Sexy clothes give anyone confidence. Go get 'em, feel great about your body.

Which pieces do you like best?
Probably the bras, and the G-strings, because I don't like to wear that much clothing and they come off really fast. They're so small.

Do you consider yourself a plus-size model?
I'm a bigger model than everybody else. I guess I'd have to say I'm not a huge model, but I'm not a thin model either. I'm pushing the way for women that have these curvaceous, womanly bodies. Women who have had children and have a little meat on us, who are never going to be thin, and are always going to have some cushion... some cushion to the tush-en.

How do you keep in shape?
I have a trainer, but I don't train too much because I don't want the hard body. I train three or four times a week, and really softly train. We walk a lot, and you kind of think a lot when you walk, so it kind of cleanses you. ... I don't have really have a special diet. You can eat what you wanna eat, you just have to take your little walks every now and then.

Do you have weight issues?
No, I'm at the perfect weight. I love my weight right now. I'm not hard-bodied, which I never ever want to be and I'm just soft and yummy.

To whom are you yummy? Are you dating anyone right now?
Nobody, I don't have a boyfriend right now. I want to, but I haven't found anyone for a long time since my last boy, Jonathan [with whom she split with two years ago]. I'm looking for anyone with a job that I don't have to support. That would be nice, someone sweet and nice. To tell you the truth, I'm really thinking of dating an actor because they seem to be the only people who understand my work and understand how I have to present myself. So I'm working on getting into the acting scene, which I never wanted to get into before because of the whole Hollywood soap opera. But, you never know, I may have to jump in.

Who's your big crush? Which actor would you like to date?
Oh my God, that would have to be Michael Keaton... and Nicholas Cage. Those are my top favorites, but they're probably taken.

What else are you working on right now?
I'm working on my Web site really hard. I'm really involved. I'm going to be doing a chat room with myself speaking. We're also going to have animation and I'm the producer of it. It will have a store. I'm designing and selling my own clothes. So that's pretty big project right now. And then, of course, I want to get back into the movie scene. I'm taking acting classes now, which are really paying off. And I'm going to start dance classes when I get back. Tap, jazz, and ballet, that's my favorite.

I like salsa.
Salsa dancing? That sounds fun. Maybe I'll have some of that, too.

Are you hoping to shed that bad-girl image in the future?
I don't think I have a bad-girl image. I'm such a good girl. I may be a little bit more sexual than other people, but I don't think that's bad... But I definitely want to be out of the scandal scene. It's people who throw me in there, it's not like I invite myself. People like to make up lies and people like to bag on me and trash me. They're jealous because I am happy. And when I laugh, they hate it.