It happened early and often for Alicia Silverstone.

In rapid succession, she was the oversexed babysitter in the 1993 film “The Crush,” she played the jilted lover in the classic Aerosmith music video “Cryin’ ” and she was a stunner as the always-stylish Cher in the 1995 smash “Clueless.”

She was 19, and already the head of her own production company.
And then she pretty much disappeared from the “A” list.

Recently, she's clawed her way back to it, first on Broadway playing Elaine Robinson opposite Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs in the popular stage version of “The Graduate,” and on TV where she was a critical favorite on the NBC series “Miss Match,” though it was canceled after one season.

Now, she is about to return to TV in a Fox series titled “Queen B” and has a prominent role in the new film comedy “Beauty Shop,” in which she plays a naïve country girl who is given a chance by Queen Latifah to realize her dream of being a hairstylist.

Q: If I were a casting director searching for an actress to play a hick from a small Georgia town, your name would not immediately come to mind.

A: No? Why not?

Q: You always seemed older and more sophisticated than your years. Was that the appeal of the role — to play someone so unlike you?

A: Actually, when I read the script, I assumed they wanted me for the role Mena Suvari eventually played (a spoiled, wealthy customer), and I figured I'd play her like Paris Hilton. The other character wasn't well-rounded yet, but what I loved about her was the description: “A country bumpkin that nobody can understand.” That intrigued me, so I went in and told them that I wanted to play her.

Q: What was their reaction?

A: They were shocked.

Q: Does your return to television mean that the “Miss Match” experience wasn't as bad as one might think?

A: When it was canceled, I saw it as an exciting thing. It meant I could go do something else. I have no attachment to how long things last. I understand that the goal is that it be a huge show that lasts, but I wouldn't have been able to do the roles I got since then.

Q: So, no hard feelings over the cancellation?

A: Journalists were demanding that the network renew the show. I got a Golden Globe nomination for it. That was all very nice reinforcement.

Q: And now you're back on TV.

A: I like TV because it reminds me a little of the theater. They're both similar disciplines in that you have to work very hard every day. In comparison, doing movies is like a vacation.

Q: In “Beauty Shop,” you're the new kid who has to fight to be accepted. Have you ever had to fight to be accepted?

A: When I was 12, all my girlfriends decided they hated me one day and turned their backs on me. That was truly horrible. But in the long run, it was a good thing because it taught me how to survive on my own.

Q: Did it make you tougher?

A: It did. A lot of things made me tough. But I'm also like a little baby girl. I can be very vulnerable and sensitive. I think I'm just coming into my full emotional maturity.

Q: Is it possible that your girlfriends turned against you because you wanted to be an actress, or did you want to be an actress because your girlfriends turned against you?

A: Who knows? I don't remember, although I wanted to be an actress since I was a little girl, and I was already modeling by the time I was 12. I'm sure that annoyed them.

Q: So you escaped into acting?

A: There definitely is a huge part of me that is a loner. As much as I crave deep relationships, there is a part of me that feels like I'll always be alone.

“Beauty Shop” is in theaters now. Read Get Out film critic Craig Outhier's review of the movie at www.getoutaz .com.