PASADENA, Calif. - Executive producer Salma Hayek thinks Ugly Betty is the most beautiful show on the ABC fall schedule.

The series, about a plain Jane from Queens, N.Y., who lands a job at a high fashion magazine, is based on Yo Soy Betty La Fea, a popular Columbian telenovela. "Usually telenovelas are a lot more melodramatic and this one was dramatic but had an amazing sense of humour," said Hayek, who is convinced American audiences "are very thirsty for something like this and they're just going to love it."

And don't be put off by the title, says Hayek. "I don't think Betty is really ugly, but what do we call ugly now? I mean anybody that is not super skinny and really tall, some people think -- some people, not everybody -- think they're ugly. I personally have seen a lot of really skinny tall models that maybe I think they're ugly."

America Ferrera, the actress who plays the title character, says she's very comfortable in Betty's skin. The 22-year-old, Los Angeles-born actress, who starred in the Indie film Real Women Have Curves, says she's thrilled to represent "a whole generation of young women who don't recognize themselves in anything they're watching. Whether it be magazines or TV or movies, they're invisible. And to me, it's an honour to take on this role, and I love, love, love being her."


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