Issue date: Nov. 20-22, 1998

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Scream your guts out with one of today's hottest young TV and movie stars.

In this article:
Advice bits
Write to Hewitt for advice
Peer into our Jennifer Love Hewitt photo gallery

If you're really scared, Hewitt, 19, has one more tip: Climb into bed with your mother. That's what she does. "Moms make everything better, especially if monsters are coming. Since I was a girl, I've always thought of my mom as a superhero. If anything bad ever comes my way, she'd step in front of it and make it go away."

Hewitt, who lives at home, believes a good relationship with parents can help teens cope with the frightening aspects of their lives. Teens today "feel the same angst, confusion, anger, sadness and awkwardness teens always felt. But in 1998, you also worry if the kid in the next locker has a gun, or if your best friend will get pregnant or commit suicide. Teens are forced to be adults the minute they step into a high school hallway."

Parents can help by respecting their children, Hewitt says. "For my mom, it's not about making me into who she wants me to be. It's about who I am. She tries hard every day to learn what kind of person I'm becoming. Among my friends whose relationships with their parents went bad, it was often because parents said, 'I know best what sort of person you should be.'

ADVICE BITS

On whether Hollywood stars are too thin:
"I like to maintain a certain weight, because that's how I feel good about myself. A tabloid printed a photo of me and said I looked like I had a party of five
in my pants. I cried, but 10 minutes later I said, 'Who are they to make me feel bad?' All that matters is how you feel about yourself. Calista Flockhart is beautiful, and if she feels good, fine."

On how many Barbies a girl should have:
"Twenty is a good number," says Hewitt, who from age 10 to 12 was a spokesgirl in Barbie commercials. "That way you can be creative, cut their hair off, have Barbie parties. I got them free, so I had 75."

On how to be a singing star in Japan:
"They love perky music," says Hewitt, who as a singer has had several hits there. "The poppier your music, the better."

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ASK HEWITT FOR ADVICE

Jennifer Love Hewitt will write or call a reader who seeks advice. By Nov. 29, write to "Straight Talk," P.O. Box 3455, Chicago, Ill. 60654 (fax: 312-661-0375; e-mail: talk@usaweekend.com).