After playing the straight-laced Pam Byrnes in the hit films Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, svelte blonde Teri Polo has been labeled the girl-next-door type. In this case, you shouldn't judge an actress by her on-screen performance. A self-declared "full-blooded, sexual American women," Polo is a former model and ballerina who left high school when she was 17 to pursue an acting career. She definitely has a wild side -- one that was given plenty of attention in her recent steamy Playboy pictorial. In this candid conversation about sex, Polo reveals why it's good to enter her circle of trust.

1. Have you ever been caught having sex at your parents' house?

Teri Polo: Yes and no. There was one time at Christmas, years ago, that the family was at my mom's house and my then-boyfriend and I decided to take a shower together. It was seriously just taking a shower, but my little brother announced what we were doing. And of course I blew up.

2. In matters of sex, were your parents like Meet the Parents' uptight Byrnes or were they more liberal like the Fockers?

TP: They fell somewhere in between. They were strict, but I was a very independent kid and went where my passions took me. I'm sure they had their grumblings behind my back -- I left the house at 13 to study ballet in New York and left high school early to pursue acting -- but they were supportive. They were very liberal in that sense.

3. Both you and your Fockers co-star Barbra Streisand have appeared on the cover of Playboy. What is it like to pose for Playboy?

TP: It was never a dream or something I had to do. Honestly, when Playboy first came to me, I said, No, that's not my image. But I spoke to friends and women I was working with. They said that it was amazing, that they'd do it in a heartbeat and that I should do it. The more I got different perspectives, I thought, "I'm 35, I have a child who's two-and-a-half and I've never felt better about myself as a person and never felt better about myself physically. This would be a wonderful opportunity to show the world how I feel." For 18-and-a-half years I've been cast as the girl next door. I'm a full-blooded, sexual American woman and I've always seen myself as being pretty darn hot. It was an amazing experience I'll remember for the rest of my life. It turned out extraordinary. This morning Howard Stern was going down the list of the top 10 girls of 2004, and someone on the show said I was pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way, and Howard had the magazine with him and said, No, she's pretty hot.

4. You have a recurring role on The West Wing as the wife of Jimmy Smits's character. Are you attracted to the powerful, political type?

TP: No, not at all. (Laughs) I speak more from the heart than from the head, and I'm not politically savvy in any form. I'm more attracted to a solid man who can take care of me and be taken care of.

next

01 · 02

Photo: Stephen Wayda