from
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...001021,00.html
By Jonathon Moran
October 21, 2007 12:00am
LYNDSEY Rodrigues has made the unbelievable jump from Killarney Heights High to Times Square in New York, landing one of the best jobs in American music television.
The 26-year-old, who has spent most of her life living on Sydney's north shore, will move to New York to host MTV's flagship daily show, Total Request Live (TRL).
Watched by more than 93 million people every day, it features music's biggest stars as daily guests.
Rodrigues has been plucked from MTV Sydney to replace American MTV host Vanessa Minnillo, who dates Jessica Simpson's ex, Nick Lachey, and is a household name in the US.
"There'll be no trans-Atlantic, Kylie Minogue faux British/American accent for me - I'm Aussie all the way,'' an excited Rodrigues told The Sunday Telegraph.
"It's going to be an amazing challenge, because for my whole life I've basically had someone to look after me, whether it be my mum, my friends or people at work.
"For the first time in my life, I'm going somewhere by myself and completely starting afresh.''
The biggest names in the business, including Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Lindsay Lohan, Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani, 50 Cent and Jennifer Lopez, appear on TRL.
It's the music show American labels use to promote their artists, and film stars appear regularly on the program.
Because of the high calibre of the show's guests and its huge audience, TRL hosts inevitably become well known themselves and often appear in tabloid magazines.
"If it weren't for this, I really don't know how I would have broken into the United States,'' Rodrigues said.
"I could have gone over there, lived in the back of a car and done a pilot season.
"But to be able to go from what I've got here and build on that overseas - I couldn't have hoped for anything more, really.''
Rodrigues, who is also a model and actor, appeared on TRL earlier this year while she was in New York on holiday.
Producers were so impressed that they called her in the next day and began talking contracts.
Rodrigues, who has worked for the local MTV network for two years, didn't think she had a chance of securing a regular spot on the show because she thought she might look too similar to Minnillo.
"I thought it might go against me because I thought they might not want to replace Vanessa with someone that looked similar to her,'' she said.
"But I guess it went in my favour.''
Rodrigues will leave Australia in mid-November, but has yet to set a start date for TRL.
She has a brother and a sister and spent her early childhood living at Willoughby before her parents moved to Greenwich.
She describes her childhood as having been "incredibly normal''.
"I've got no skeletons in the closet,'' said Rodrigues, who has dated the same guy, Chris, for the past two years.
"Hopefully I'll acquire some, now that I'm living the life.''
