America Ferrera: An Ugly Side of Politics

America Ferrera Jonathan Alcorn/ZUMAPress.com
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America Ferrera, who once hit the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton, is now a very public supporter of Barack Obama, and for almost a year she's been urging young people to vote through Declare Yourself.

However, that doesn't mean the Ugly Betty star is hoping to declare her own candidacy for public office someday.

"I don't think running for office is anything I'm prepared for or could even prepare myself for," Ferrera, 24, told me earlier today, when we chatted about her work with Declare Yourself during a lunch break from filming her hit ABC series in New York City.

Why not? Read on to find out...

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Jennifer Aniston Paul Fenton/ZUMA KPA
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Ugly Betty Rumor Patrol

America Ferrera, Lindsay Lohan Jesus Jimenez/WireImage.com, Jordan Struass/WIreImage.com

Art, life and Ugly Betty. Bear with us as we try to distinguish the difference.

America Ferrera's on-set wardrobe this week (specifically a honking-big diamond ring) sparked real-life engagement rumors between the 24-year-old actress and her longtime boyfriend, Ryan Piers Williams.

"Not true," her rep tells E! News about the report. But no word on which TV boyfriend might have popped the question. (We're still pulling for you, Henry!)

Meanwhile, producers are reportedly considering stunt-casting Lindsay Lohan for the show's finale May 22 and bringing her back for an even bigger arc next season.

To which we say—Naomi Campbell, Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia, Victoria Beckham—just how many divas can Mode absorb? Apparently, the answer is, never enough.

Imagen Awards Get Ugly

Ugly Betty is sitting pretty when it comes to accolades.

The ABC comedy was the big winner at the 22nd Annual Imagen Awards, which recognizes movies and television shows offering a positive portrayal of the Hispanic community.

Ugly Betty was named Best Primetime Series, and its 23-year-old star, America Ferrera, Best TV Actress.

The actress, who's up for an Emmy for her breakout performance on Betty, also picked up Imagen Foundation's Creative Achievement Award.  Ana Ortiz, who plays Betty's older sister, Hilda, claimed Best Supporting Actress, which will be a nifty bookend to the American Latino Media Arts Award Outstanding Supporting Actress prize she won earlier this year.

Other TV winners included Miguel Ferrer (son of Hollywood star Jose Ferrer and singer Rosemary Clooney, and cousin of George Clooney), who earned Best Actor for his role in NBC's Crossing Jordan.

ABC's Dancing with the Stars, whose third season featured Mario Lopez, twirled its way to a trophy for Best Variety or Reality Show.

On the big screen, Imagen singled out Guillermo Del Toro's acclaimed surrealist film Pan's Labyrinth, about a young girl who seeks solace in fairy tales to survive life in fascist Spain.

Pan's Labyrinth was awarded Best Picture, Mexican-born helmer Del Toro received Best Director and handing Best Actress to his 13-year-old leading lady Ivana Baquero.

What was believed to be Pan's chief rival at this year's awards, Alejandro Înárritu's drama, Babel, failed to cash in on any of its four nominations.

Instead, Mel Gibson's Mayan action flick Apocalypto had a surprisingly strong showing, with Gerardo Teracena and Dalia Hernandez sweeping the supporting races.

More than 2,000 guests attended the Saturday ceremony, which was held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

The complete list of winners:

MOVIES

  • Best Picture: Pan's Labyrinth
  • Best Actor: Kuno Becker, Goal
  • Best Actress: Ivana Baquero, Pan's Labyrinth
  • Best Supporting Actor: Gerardo Teracena, Apocalypto
  • Best Supporting Actress: Dalia Hernandez, Apocalypto
  • Best Director: Guillermo del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth
  • Best Theatrical Short or Student Film: La Primavera Communion
  • Best Theatrical Production: Macho Men & The Women Who Love Them
  • Best Documentary: Lalo Guerrero, The Original Chicano

TELEVISION

  • Best Prime-time Series: Ugly Betty
  • Best Actor: Miguel Ferrer, Crossing Jordan
  • Best Actress: America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
  • Best Supporting Actor: Jose Yenque, Between
  • Best Supporting Actress: Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty
  • Best Variety or Reality Show: Dancing With The Stars
  • Best Children's Programming: Dora the Explorer
  • Best Local Informational Programming: Life and Times
  • Best National Informational Programming: Voces
  • Best On-Air Advertising: Splenda: Mama Yo Quiero New

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

  • Creative Achievement Award: America Ferrera
  • Norman Lear Writer's Award: Cynthia Cidre, writer of the upcoming CBS series Cane
  • President's Award: Disney-ABC Television Group
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Walter Ulloa, chairman and CEO of Entravision Communications Corp.

Ugly Betty Squeezed into Pants Sequel

If the pants fit, wear 'em. 

That's more or less what the producers of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants are telling America Ferrera, who is reportedly not too happy about having to take time out this summer to shoot a sequel to the 2005 coming-of-age dramedy.  

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alcon Entertainment is exercising the sequel option in Ferrera's contract and forcing her back to the negotiating table.  

While the reviews weren't terrible for the first female-bonding flick based on author Ann Brashares' popular Summer of the Sisterhood series, the film only made $39 million at the box office, per Box Office Mojo, actually averaging less per screen than Ferrera's 2002 big-screen debut, the indie Real Women Have Curves.  

Not to mention, Ferrera has come a long way since receiving third billing as Carmen, the most zaftig of the four friends who magically fit into the same jeans, coming after costars Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, who along with Blake Lively are all in talks to return for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.  

Earlier this year, Ferrera picked up a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for playing the not really very ugly Betty Suarez on the hit ABC series Ugly Betty, which has already been picked up for a second season and won best comedy series honors at the Globes, the NAACP Image Awards and the Satellite Awards earlier this year. 

Ferrera, 23, is also said to be in talks to star in An Invisible Sign of My Own for Ugly Betty co-executive producer Salma Hayek's new Ventanazul production company at MGM.  

All of which has apparently contributed to her lack of desire to zip up those old thrift shop jeans yet again. Filming for Sisterhood 2 is expected to start in June while Ugly Betty is on hiatus. The sequel is expected to follow the plotline of the fourth book in Brashares' series, Forever in Blue.

The Hollywood Reporter compared Ferrera's situation to Halle Berry's, when the actress was coming off an Oscar win for Monster's Ball and had reservations about reprising her role as Storm for X2: X-Men United. Little did anyone know, however, that Berry would then move on to do Catwoman and Gothika, and therefore be more than happy to suit up for X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Before wearing the pants again, Bledel will wrap up the seventh (and possibly last) season of Gilmore Girls, Tamblyn will be waiting to hear whether CBS makes amends for canceling Joan of Arcadia by picking up the drama pilot Babylon Fields, and Lively will be prepping for her role in the new CW soap Gossip Girl, from The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz.

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