NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham<\/a> said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.<\/p>\n The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.<\/p>\n “I was nerdy. \u2026 You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/p>\n HEATHER GRAHAM SLAMS \u2018AWKWARD\u2019 NEW REALITY OF HOLLYWOOD SEX SCENES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’<\/p>\n “[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”<\/p>\n Heather Graham landed the role of Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive.”<\/span> (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.<\/p>\n “It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Heather Graham got her career breakthrough with “License to Drive” and “Boogie Nights.”<\/span> (Ron Galella\/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”<\/p>\n She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,<\/a>” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”<\/p>\n Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.<\/p>\n Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.<\/p>\n Heather Graham poses for a portrait in 2001.<\/span> (Eric Vandeville\/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.<\/a><\/p>\n Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they\u2019re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox \u2026 and a bunch of lasery things.”<\/p>\n “Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”<\/p>\n Heather Graham revealed her wellness routine to help her stay young and in shape.<\/span> (Daniele Venturelli\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery<\/a> because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”<\/p>\n![\"Heather](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200\/675\/Heather-Graham-90s.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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