By HUMBERTO GUIDA , Photographs: DAVIS FACTOR

ne thing my dad instilled in me is don't live with regret. So everything I want to do in life I'm going to jump into," says Vanessa Minnillo as she takes a break from a mellow New Year's holiday spent with close friends, family and her beau, Nick Lachey, in Costa Rica. "Everyone thought I was crazy when I tried out for Miss Teen USA, because I'd never done pageants. I even thought I was crazy. But I won it, and that gave me every single opportunity I have today. I'm so glad I didn't listen to everyone else and not do it."

The brunette beauty, whose exotic looks come from a mix of Filipino, Italian and Irish heritage, has made a name for herself by calling her own shots in a way few young female stars get to. She has also become a ubiquitous item in the tabloids over the past year for everything from her relationship with Lachey, which began soon after his highly publicized divorce from Jessica Simpson, to the controversial photos she took with close friend Lindsay Lohan involving kitchen knives. But Minnillo doesn't get wrapped up in the notoriety. Having been a celebrity reporter for Entertainment Tonight, as well as one of MTV's most popular veejays, the heat of the spotlight doesn't faze her much. Instead, she is focused on a relationship that's going far better than most other celebrity affairs, her fashion and makeup lines, and her newest venture--acting.

Minnillo had a well-reviewed cameo in the recent Fantastic Fourflick, 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and she intends to capitalize on the role with even bigger, better parts. One thing is for sure: She is serious about this new career move. "When I was on the set of Fantastic Four, I loved it. I respected everyone's work ethic. It was like a mini-family, and I want to continue doing it, whether it's action or comedy or action-comedy. I can pull off physical comedy; I'm athletic enough not to get hurt easily," Minnillo says.

"I got to do MTV for four years, ET for two years, then left to put my heart into other things for a while. I just love new experiences. I was an air-force brat that attended eight different schools in my first nine years of school, so I feel I can adjust to anything," she declares. "Acting is a different way to entertain people. Most people know how to be themselves in front of the camera, but interpreting a character takes a lot. Once I get the right role, I'll just feel it."

That's why Minnillo is passing on some of the roles she is being offered right now. And she can afford to pick and choose, thanks to her career as a media personality. "We've had some offers that we turned down because it wasn't me," she exclaims. "For one of them, I had to be this bikini terrorist and in another I was some crazy girl at Mardi Gras doing anything for beads!"

"Acting is something new for me, and you have to master this craft. It's not just something you jump into. That's why I took time off to be with my family--reap the fruits of my own labor," she explains. "I've worked two jobs all these years straight and I never got to stop and enjoy it."

Well, Minnillo is enjoying it now. The Costa Rican vacation is her first New Year's not working in a while, and it's exactly what she needed. "We all relaxed by the pool. At midnight, we took a quote from Into the Wild and toasted, 'Happiness is only truly appreciated when shared.' You can't be happy by yourself. You have enjoy it with others."

Lately, "others" has meant Lachey, whom she declines to talk about extensively but whom she calls "the most supportive boyfriend ever." Minnillo, a veteran of the entertainment-news industry thanks to her ET stint, is very protective of the relationship and keeps her personal life as private as possible. Her solution is a sense of humor ...

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