Lately, Ali Landry has been keeping a low profile by only playing minors roles in TV series, such as Criminal Minds, and a recently canceled show called Eve that actually ran for much longer than many big name critics believed it would. How that happened could have been partly Landry's fault as she played in over 20 episodes on the series.

Wherever Ali Landry pops up, there's water involved. The 24-year-old Cajun was raised in seaside Breaux Bridge, La., the Crawfish Capital of the World. Once she was all grown-up in an orange one-piece swimsuit, she paddled off with the Miss USA 1996 crown. She has even done some laps on TV in what else other than Sunset Beach, and her tidal turn on the small screen took place in a laundromat. During last January's Super Bowl, she wiped out viewers in an ad for Doritos Puffs: Two cool dudes try to impress her with their prowess at catching the chips in their mouths, but Landry, who studied tap, ballet, and gymnastics for 15 years, outdoes them with a series of splits and leaps performed with a man-melting smile.

Her commercial costar Sean P. Hayes says, ''We were shooting all day, and a lot of Doritos were consumed. I've never seen anyone look better with orange powder on her face.''

The 5'8'' Landry, who lives in L.A. and dates Phoenix Cardinals quarterback Stoney Case, still can't believe her impact. ''It's absolutely crazy,'' she says, citing her imperfect vision (''I'm almost blind without my glasses''), and her bunions (she kept her favorite tennis shoes through a growth spurt). Even her best beauty secret is low-priced. ''I buy this teeth-bleaching stuff at Target and do it myself,'' she says. Her former apartment mate Brian Edwards swears it works: ''When Ali smiled, I would say, 'Stop it, you're blinding me!'''

• "Criminal Minds" .... Kaylee Robinson (1 episode, 2008)
       - Masterpiece (2008) TV episode .... Kaylee Robinson
• Bella (2006) .... Celia
  ... aka Beauty (International: English title: informal literal title)
• "Eve" .... Rita Lefleur (22 episodes, 2003-2006)
       - Daddy's Home (2006) TV episode .... Rita Lefleur
       - Resident Aliens (2005) TV episode .... Rita Lefleur
       - They've Come Undone: Part 1 (2004) TV episode .... Rita Lefleur
       - They've Come Undone: Part 2 (2004) TV episode .... Rita Lefleur
       - For Love and Money (2004) TV episode .... Rita Lefleur
        (17 more)
• "Fastlane" .... Hillary (2 episodes, 2003)
       - Iced (2003) TV episode .... Hillary
       - Dosed (2003) TV episode .... Hillary
• Who's Your Daddy? (2003/I) (V) .... Elissa
• "Spy TV" .... Host (8 episodes, 2002)
       - Episode #2.15 (2002) TV episode .... Host
       - Episode #2.10 (2002) TV episode .... Host
       - Episode #2.13 (2002) TV episode .... Host
       - Episode #2.11 (2002) TV episode .... Host
       - Episode #2.9 (2002) TV episode .... Host
        (3 more)
• Outta Time (2002) .... Bella
  ... aka Out of Time (Europe: English title)
  ... aka The Courier
• Repli-Kate (2002) .... Kate/Repli-Kate
  ... aka National Lampoon's Repli-Kate (USA: complete title)
• "Inside Schwartz" .... Anne (1 episode, 2001)
       - Event Night (2001) TV episode .... Anne
• Soulkeeper (2001) .... Red Headed Woman
• "Farmclub.com" (2001) TV series .... Host
• "Felicity" .... Natalie (4 episodes, 2000)