Rachel Nichols 5

Society often throws around terms to describe special individuals: Some people are "talented", some people are "gifted", some are even "prodigies" and "geniuses". But those qualities usually apply only to one field of expertise; no one ever accused Bill Gates of being a great basketball player, or asked Terrell Owens to play a piano concerto. Rare, then, is the person who combines excellence in multiple areas, and that individual is often referred to as "The Total Package". In that vein, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Rachel Nichols, a true Total Package. Nichols is astonishingly beautiful, that's the first thing you notice about her. That's the first thing that modeling scouts did as well, when she was at prestigious Columbia University in New York City, and they signed her to do overseas shoots even though she had very little experience as a model. She ended up forging a highly successful career in that field, but modeling wasn't the end of the line for Nichols. At her agent's request, she auditioned, despite having next to no acting experience, for a role on 'Sex And The City'. Needless to say, she won it and delivered a memorable performance. Based on that and several other small roles, she won the female lead in 2003's 'Dumb And Dumberer', where she far outshined the material and her fellow actors. Then she got the lead on 'The Inside'. Despite the fact that her character was dramatically altered from a lighter, teen-type role to a dark, angst-ridden adult, Nichols handled the change with grace, establishing herself as a true actress rather than simply a model who appeared in motion pictures. ABC thought she was so talented that they pegged her as Jennifer Garner's successor on 'Alias'. All of this at the tender age of 25! Oh, and the beauty's got brains, too: she finished her undergrad program at Columbia (an Ivy League school) in just three years, balancing her studies against a grueling modeling schedule. Her degree: a double major in math and economics! But success hasn't gotten to her head; she still seems very personable in interviews and press events, without a hint of the typical model's arrogance that you would expect from a person so gifted. In other words, Rachel Nichols is... well, rare. And she has plenty of time to surprise us again and again with her versatility in the future. We'll be waiting.