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Shenae Grimes Talks Teen Vogue Internship and...Leaving Showbiz?

90210 actress working for the same fashion mag Lauren Conrad toiled for...is she ditching showbiz for the style industry?

By Cristina Gibson May 31, 2011 7:01 PMTags
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Shenae Grimes is pulling a Lauren Conrad.

No, she isn't doing an MTV reality series, but she is toiling as an intern at Teen Vogue this summer, just like L.C. did back in the day.

"It's going really well. I've been there a week so far, but I've gotten to do a little bit of everything already," Shenae told me Sunday night at the Axe Lounge in Southampton, N.Y.

So why exactly would the 90210 starlet decide to intern at a magazine...and is she planning to ditch the starry showbiz world for the fashion industry?

Shenae says she finds working in fashion more fulfilling than acting.

"I interned at Fashion Television, which is a fashion network in Canada before I got 90210 and loved it," she explained, "Fashion is really where my heart lies. I had this crazy experience happen at the beginning of my hiatus [from 90210] and I realized I needed to get back in touch with my roots and what made me happy and what made me feel fulfilled and it's being in the fashion world. So I wanted to learn the print side of things. I've done the hosting thing, but I really wanted to wrap my head around everything that goes into putting a magazine together and it is insane how much it work takes."

Shenae insists that she's slaving away in the fashion closet like any other intern.

"Usually I spend anywhere from three to six hours in the closet doing returns and check-ins," she told me, adding that she also gets to shadow editors for wardrobe pulls and do research for features.

She says she wanted to make sure she wasn't getting any special treatment.

"I wanted to go in and make sure that everyone there, including the other interns, knew I was there to do the exact same stuff as they were and work just as hard as anybody else," she explained.

Shenae, who first got her start on Degrassi in her native Canada, says she wouldn't mind quitting acting altogether.

"Acting is something I've done since I was 13 years old, so if opportunities present themself, I'll absolutely pursue them as I always have," she told me. "But my dream would be to be an editor of a fashion magazine and be directing shorts and indie films in my free time. I love directing and being behind the camera." 

Shenae's date for the South Hampton soiree? Her dad. Awww.

Kourtney Kardashian also attended the bash with Scott Disick, but called it a relatively early night. Paris Hilton danced the night away at the hot spots sans Cy Waits, who was in Vegas for business over the holiday weekend.