Mandy Moore Learns 'How To Deal'

With three platinum-selling albums and two successful feature films, "A Walk to Remember," and "The Princess Diaries" under her belt, Mandy Moore has become a certified pop princess.

Now she is Halley Martin, a teen who gives up on love when she sees the negative effect it has on those around her, in her latest big screen turn, "How To Deal."

Moore told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that the film touches on many issues teens have to face, "divorce, teen pregnancy, death ….It is light-hearted, but has some heavy-hitting issues, all the while still being quite wholesome and projecting the image of trying to find faith. I think that's important for people my age. So it has to have something to learn from it, I guess, at the end of the movie."

Moore notes that in real life she is very different from Halley, whom she describes as an outsider. She says, "Nobody was on her side and defending her. I couldn't find two similarities between myself and the character. That's why I was so moved to take on the challenge like that. I wanted to get inside her head and figure out why someone who is so loved felt unloved."

But she does grow throughout the film. Meanwhile, in Moore's real life, she has a lovely relationship with her parents. She says, "I still live with my family. Mom and Dad are always traveling with me."

Her mom, who was a former newspaper journalist, wangled her an introduction to Moore's current boyfriend, Andy Roddick, better known to tennis fans as A-Rod. So while her character was avoiding love, in real life she was falling for tghe tennis star.

She says, "About the last three weeks of the film, I meet this guy who completely just steals my heart. I'm so happy and crushing on him. I have mom to thank for that. Luckily, Andy obliged, accepted the invitation and came and met me on the set. I watched his tennis match the next day and the rest is history, I guess."

About Mandy Moore:

• Born Amanda Leigh Moore in Nashua, N.H., on April 10, 1984
• After performing the national anthem at a sports event in Orlando, was approached by producers who suggested she record a demo.
• In 1999, toured with both *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys in support of her hit debut single "Candy" and debut album, "So Real."
• Her debut single "Candy" got wide appeal reaching platinum sales by 2000. It also launched her MTV career in which she guest-hosted the popular daily series "TRL" and starred in specials including "Mandy's Spring Break Makeover."
• In the summer 2000, she had her own talk show, "The Mandy Moore Show," which resumed in the summer of 2001, re-titled "Mandy."
• Right after the release of "Candy," also in 2000, she worked as a Neutrogena spokesperson. And the home video "Magic Al and the Mind Factory" surfaced, a children's project she had filmed in 1998.
• In 2001, she released her third album, a self-titled disc featuring an edgier, more rock-infused sound showcased on the leadoff single "In My Pocket;" she also was the voice of a bear cub in the comedy sequel "Dr. Dolittle 2;" made feature acting debut in "The Princess Diaries," playing a popular cheerleader; and got to perform "Stupid Cupid."
• In 2002, she had her first leading movie role in "A Walk to Remember."
• She starred in 2003 acting opposite Elijah Wood in "Try Seventeen." Moore will next star in Brian Dannelly's "Saved" in Fall 2003. "Saved" tells a story of a girl who tries to save her gay boyfriend by making love with him and ends up pregnant and ostracized. This film is being produced by Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern and co-stars Mary-Louise Parker, Jena Malone, Eva Amurri, Macaulay Culkin and Patrick Fugit.
• Moore is currently in London filming an untitled movie for director Andy Cardiff. It is the tale of the president's daughter (Moore) who insists on going to college without Secret Service agents. The President agrees, but slips a downy-faced agent into the school to watch her. They fall in love until she figures out his true identity. The film will be released in 2004.

• "So Real," released by Epic Records (1999).
  
• "I Wanna Be With You," released by Epic Records (2000).
  
• "Mandy Moore," released by Epic Records (2001).
  
• "Coverage," to be released by Epic Records (October 2003). Features renditions of songs by XTC and Cat Stevens.

Education:
Attended a high school correspondence program through Texas Tech University.