13-year-old Anastasia Baranova, an only child, moved to the United States with her mother when she was nine. She has modeled in Moscow and Minnesota. Her mother told her that as a child, she was always posing for the camera, even before she began modeling.

Scout's Safari is Anastasia's first big acting break. Before the series premier, Anastasia had a brief appearance with a few lines in Lizzie McGuire. Anastasia first auditioned for a bigger part. Instead of her, the casting director chose a tall brunette. They asked Anastasia if she would be interested in the smaller role. Smart girl, Anastasia said yes.

The young actress confessed that she was terrified the first day of shooting Scout's Safari. Her hands were shaking. She could think of all kinds of things that could go wrong. But her TV Dad took her hands in his, reassuring her that she'd be fine. She was and shooting went well.

Filming began in July 2002 and continued through October. On the set, she was tutored. She's back in public school and is caught up with her classes and her friends.

When I first called Anastasia Baranova the day of our interview, it was delayed for a few hours. Her mother, Ata, apologized, explaining that the taping of a commercial was running over. During our talk, Anastasia told me it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken ad, scheduled to air around Thanksgiving. She said it was fun to do and she was especially excited that it was with Jason Alexander. A day or two before getting the commercial role, Anastasia had seen him on television. She thought how great it would be to work with the actor, who made television history with the cast of Seinfeld in his role as George.

When asked what advice she would give other aspiring teen actors, Anastasia said, "Don't give up! It's hard, but just keep doing it. Do it to the maximum."