Hot on Hot

Incendiary Supermodel Amber Smith Rockets from Sports Illustrated to Playboy to Hollywood

Supermodel Amber Smith bursts into the room and lands in a soft chair. She says, a little nervously, "I bet I have lipstick on my teeth." If so, we hadn't noticed. All told, she's wearing-maybe a yard of gossamer curve-hugging silk. She calls it a slip dress--as if a name might make it more substantial. Add two wings and she could be a nymph. We are meeting at the Next Management agency in New York, a real-life version of TV's Models Inc. There's a herd of six-foot-tall men and women glamorizing the reception area. Set against the chill of their perfection, Amber throws off melting heat. In the competitive world of modeling, that is her signature. A couple of years back, this now-22-year-old flamingo from Florida dyed her hair flame-red, put on 20 pounds or so and invaded Europe--tossing off tempests and tantrums wherever she went. If anything, her behavior added to her mystique. With her wild ways and feral looks, she vaulted onto magazine covers and fashion runways. Then came appearances in two Sports Illustrated swim-suit issues. She thereby joined the ranks of the models we call super. Using her global notoriety as leverage, she has begun to explore an acting career. Look for her in the thriller Lowball and in Paul Mazursky's new feature, Faithful, in which she plays Ryan O'Neal's mistress. According to one expert, the role is in her eastern European genes. "When Karl Lagerfeld found out that I am Hungarian," Amber notes, "he told me that Hungarians make the best mistresses." Amber prepares for acting roles by sitting at home in front of the VCR, replaying and mimicking the performances of her favorite actresses. To prepare for her starring role in Playboy, she covered her bedroom walls with posters of such pinup classics as Rita Hayworth, Jayne Mansfield and her all-time idol, Marilyn Monroe. ("If you walked into my room, you'd think I was a lesbian," she jokes.) Naturally, she requested that Bert Stern do the photography. He made history in 1962 by shooting Marilyn Monroe's last nude photo session. "Even though Amber doesn't really look like Marilyn, she reminds you of her because of her wonderful facial expressions," says Stern. Amber's ideas about her lipstick, nail color and looks frequently inspire catwalk cattiness--models are expected to be blank canvases. "When I walk into a room I know some girls whisper to each other and say, 'She's so vulgar.' But you know, this is who I am." As Amber says this, she throws up her arms, setting off an alluring tremor through the slip dress. "For me to be sexy--and this is what I told Bert Stern--I need humor and playfulness. I can't do innocence," she says. And yet, her innocent enjoyment of nudity is a compelling trait. Amber recalls that "a friend in Paris called me 'My naked roommate,"' for her predilection for going au naturel. There is also a certain nakedness in her steady gaze. It is a personal projection she calls "hot on hot." Maybe this fire comes from her father, Russell Smith, a former running back for the San Diego Chargers. She grew up in a tough part of Tampa, and had to fight her way out of gangs of girls who hassled her at school. "That's where I got this," she says, pointing to a charming imperfection on the bridge of her nose. She never lost a bout. Her ambition hasn't allowed for much relaxation. Incredibly, she claims she hasn't been on a date in a year and a half. "It's hard to meet people. I guess that's sad," Amber says. She looks forward to a planned move to Los Angeles, to further establish herself as an actress and allow some time to look inward. She says that while on the set of her most recent movie, "I felt my temper rising and it scared me. Movie people wouldn't put up with that. Some say I'm a 16-year old child still. That's scary too." The time has come for Amber and her slip dress to move on. After a thank-you and a goodbye, she leaves the office. The agency's bookers raise their jaded eyes as she passes by. She is, indeed, someone to watch.