Elizabeth Berkley's driving ambition
and unforgiving determination
have led her from the halls
of Miss Barbara's Dance Centre to
the doorstep of Hollywood success
with her new film, Showgirls.
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
he photos of Elizabeth
Berkley in August's Pre-
miere magazine give two
distinct impressions of the
rising Hollywood star.
It's almost impossible to
recognize the former
Farmington Hills resident
as she appears in the first
photo that accompanies a review of
her new movie, Showgirls.
Bare-breasted, she raises her
hands defiantly to another dancer,
both of their bodies encased in shiny
black rubber, dominatrix-style body
suits. Matching thigh-high, stiletto-
heeled boots snake up her legs. Her
trademark curly blond hair hides be-
neath a short black wig.
Here, she is the Las Vegas show-
girl, dominating every inch of the
much coveted stage.
The other photograph, part of a
story about this year's Cannes Film
Festival where Ms. Berkley promot-
ed the NC-17 rated Showgirls, sets
the starlet among a group of happy
photographers.
In this full-page color photo
(Sharon Stone's pic only got about
one-eighth of a page), she bends at
the waist, squaring her shoulders
and showing off a slice of cleavage.
Her head cocked back a bit, she half
closes her eyes and appears to slow-
ly, seductively lick her red lips.
Here Ms. Berkley is the soft Hol-
lywood sex kitten, purring into the
camera.
Neither depiction is truly a promi-
nent side of the 22-year-old Michi-
gan native and Hollywood's fastest
rising star, but rather parts of a com-
plex personality that she slips into
and out of like the clothes she wears
(or doesn't) for her latest role.
"She is a powerful acting package,"
said Cameron Thor, Ms. Berkley's
acting coach. "I don't know anyone
who has the kind of work ethic and
who can derive the kind of joy she
does from her work."
"She will begin her film career as
the world's new sex symbol but her
skill level, and her talent and her
spirit, will carry her well beyond
that," Mr. Thor said.
The movie, written by Joe Eszter-
has and directed by Paul Verhoeven
of Basic Instinct fame, tells the sto-
ry of 18-year-old Nomi Malone, a girl
whose road to womanhood leads her
to hitch-hike to Las Vegas. There,
Nomi (Ms. Berkley) works in a
cheesy strip club as a lap dancer, a
topless stripper who gyrates in the
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