Kristen Bell's a Tough Act to Follow

Dreaming up a modern-day Nancy Drew to be the hero of a TV series about a 17-year-old girl detective, the creator of the show had something a little different in mind than the fiery redhead gumshoe of yore. He wanted a brunette ‑- a smarter-than-you California teen trapped in a town straight out of film noir. Definitely not a blonde bombshell.

"I heard Christina Ricci in my head when I wrote it," says Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, a former high school journalism teacher who is now executive producer of the UPN show, which has garnered great reviews and a cult audience. "I wanted someone who had a caustic delivery for lines that had weight and dryness."

And yet, the young woman who won the role is a blonde with a bright smile instead of a smirk, and a sunny voice trained for Broadway musicals instead of a grouchy deadpan. Kristen Bell, a 24-year-old Detroit native who moved to Los Angeles in 2002 after a brief stint in New York theater, beat out some 70 other young actresses for the part of the resourceful teen.