And although the 25-year-old Cincinnati native has an MTV production deal, she doesn't know yet what that will mean or when she'll return to the channel, giving her time to resume her musical career (Prince once produced a single for the former Soul Train dancer) and helm a new "show" for America Online's The Hub, The Real Carmen Electra.

What will the online offering--weekly chats, lots of pictures and answering-machine messages (we're not making this stuff up)--reveal about Electra? And just who is the real Carmen? We sat down face to face to find out.

Is there a big Jenny McCarthy shadow hanging over you?
I think at first people were wondering, "Who is this girl? Is she going to be like Jenny?" All the kids [on Singled Out] were really supportive and said, "Carmen, you're doing a great job." Just because we both did Singled Out doesn't mean we're the same or that I'm trying to be her. I think she's really funny, but I want to go off in a different direction.

 I guess Baywatch is part of that. Tell us about the show. Have you always been a good swimmer?
No. When I came onto Baywatch I couldn't swim very well. I actually had to hold my nose to dive. They didn't know that, obviously. When I went in for the audition, I told them I was this great swimmer. And they said, "Okay great. Well, let's see how you can do it." They actually took me down to this tank and had me do a dive. I said a prayer, and I made it through. I don't know how.

So, you shoot the underwater stuff in a tank?
Yeah, in a water tank at the studio. I'm actually going to have to do an ocean dive, which I'm really nervous about. We do all of our own stunts.

What types of stunts have you done?
I had to dive off a speeding boat in the middle of the ocean! When we finished the scene, our stunt coordinator said, "Carmen, we just counted 15 sharks." He drove me around on this boat, and you could see sharks shooting off in every direction. I started to panic a little bit because we shoot there almost every day, but he said, "Oh, don't worry, it's just a leopard shark." I don't care what kind of shark it is, I don't want to be anywhere close to them. Now I'm having nightmares--seriously.

 Tell me about your music. You scored a minor hit with the 1992 single "Go Go Dancer."
I lived in Minneapolis for two years, where I recorded my album with Prince. Then I decided I wanted to live in L.A. and pursue a career here.

Are you going to do some more singing?
Definitely. That's my first love. I want to get back to the music. The energy's just amazing. There's nothing like it.

Rumor has it that you and Prince weren't just making music in the studio.
Prince was, like, years ago. Been there, done that. We'd go out on dates; we'd go out to his club or to a movie, out to dinner or to a concert, but he was recording, and I was recording. We were so busy, we never really had time to start a relationship. I was very attracted to him; I think he's a beautiful man.

And now you're living with B-Real of Cypress Hill?
We've been together for three years. I think we have such a good relationship because he goes on tour, and we have our space. We have time to miss each other. When I do get to see him, that makes it a lot more special.

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