By Anna David, Photographs: Mark Liddell

ne would expect Carmen Electra to be larger than life. Even her name—a gift, like her early singing career, from her former mentor and boyfriend, Prince— suggests a creature who will dazzle you with bright colors and an electric personality.

But today Electra is seated demurely, legs crossed, in an office at her publicity company, decked out in a jeans-and-Juicy-blazer combo that's far more Beverly Hills lawyer than Playboy-posing wife of rocker Dave Navarro. Sure, she has the wifebeater tank top on underneath, but as she chats and sips from a can of Coke (one of the eight she takes in daily), Electra seems nothing like a reality-television star who puts out cardio-striptease DVDs and married Dennis Rodman at the Little Chapel of the Flowers in Vegas. Though her trademark brunette mane is blonde and tied back in a neat ponytail, it's more her energy—which is quiet and subservient, and not at all look-at-me prima donna—which makes her seem so down-to-earth. I mean, this is a girl who showed up when she got called in for jury duty, and although she was eventually dismissed because the fact that "people wanted pictures and wives had me talking to their husbands on the phone" proved to be too distracting, she wasn't above doing her civic duty.

The 32-year-old Ohio native seems to have actually stayed somewhat true to her roots, though it has been a major personality transition for a girl named Tara Patrick who "couldn't even change in front of my mom" and was "too shy to get up in front of my class in school and read a book report" to become Carmen Electra, the worldwide sex symbol and host of Bravo's hit show Manhunt. In the early '90s, when she first landed in L.A. and performed every week at Prince's now long-gone club, Glam Slam, she survived on a mere $200 a week. But though the paychecks have gotten bigger, the girl inside is probably much the same.

VEGAS: When did you go blonde?

CARMEN ELECTRA: I changed it over the summer. I had to darken it for Starsky & Hutch and wanted to go blonde. It happened by accident because I couldn't get to the girl who normally colors my hair in New York, so the person who did it just made it lighter. So now I'm blonde.

What's life like as a blonde?

Honestly, I always want what I don't have. As soon as I turn blonde I want to be a brunette. So it goes back and forth. I'm obsessing over brunettes right now.

What's a typical day like when you're not working?

Well, I can't just wake up and dart out the door, because I'm not a morning person at all. The first thing I have to have is a Coke—that's my coffee. I'll lie in bed for a while and watch TV, then I'll eventually get up, maybe go to the gym, and make it home in time for The People's Court at 1 o'clock.

Really?

Really. We're obsessed. It's so good. It's so much fun. Judge Marilyn Milian is amazing, she's so hot and funny and just to see these people and the crazy situations they get in. We TiVo People's Court, The Apprentice, The Surreal Life. We like reality TV.

How did you like it when your life was made into reality TV [for MTV's 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen + Dave]?

We loved it. When MTV first came to us with the idea, we didn't want to do it because we thought that we would miss the moment just by constantly having cameras in our faces. But it ended up probably being one of the best things we could have done, because we got to document our entire wedding. Plus, the response was so good—it was the highest-rated premiere of a reality show on MTV. And we only had cameras around for the wedding stuff—the tasting of the cake and picking out flowers, that kind of stuff.

What's it like hosting Manhunt?

It's nice because for once I'm sort of on the other side of things. These poor guys are put through all these different challenges and have to go through photo shoots and runway for the first time, so they're really nervous and have to do things they may not be comfortable with. So I get a kick out of stepping back and watching all the drama take place with these boys...

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