Larger than life

A couple of months ago Kristanna Loken was known primarily as the stunning-looking robot who nearly terminated Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and as the lusty, revengeful vampire in BloodRayne. She was also on our radar for her role in the newly begun season of The L Word.

That was before she subtly let slip to me that she and BloodRayne costar Michelle Rodriguez were more than just friends. Now newspaper columnists and the blogosphere have transformed her into something else. Forget Portia and Ellen, Melissa and Tammy Lynn, Rosie and Kelli: Kristanna is suddenly half of the hottest celesbian couple in the land.

But we'll return to Lokuez (Kristelle? Michanna?) later. A revelation of that sort wasn't what I had in mind when I arrived at Loken's homey two-story house in Burbank, Calif., on the morning after Halloween to talk about The L Word. The 27-year-old actress answered the door in a towel, fresh out of the shower. Having wet hair and wearing no makeup--nor almost anything else--only enhanced Loken's 5-foot-11 Nordic good looks. Combined with her unaffected personality, it was impossible not to like her immediately.