Caridee English is...

Ever since “Gossip Girls” started filming in NYC the cast of rising stars have been hitting up trendy hotspots off-screen as much as on camera. If there’s a party, chances are at least one of them is on the guest list. Last night, as my colleagues were talking to “Gossip Girl” hotties Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick at a Reebok party at Hotel Gansevoort I was across the street at a the one-year anniversary party of trendy restaurant STK where Blake Lively was supposed to be joining us for dinner. Unfortunately we were told she got caught filming late so after a glass of champagne I snuck out – and went home to watch “Gossip Girls,” tivo’d a couple of hours earlier.

I love the show. It’s like a cross between “Sex in the City” and “The OC” but more SATC and only OC at all because the cast is in high school. Last night my friend Caridee English guest-starred. Caridee won “America’s Top Model” a couple of seasons ago and her role was (drum roll) playing a wealthy man’s arm candy and being referred to as ‘A 25-year-old mannequin.’

Caridee is in Italy today so after the show I sent her an email full of questions. I asked her if she minded being type-cast as a model and a gracious always glass half full kinda girl she said, “I do get type cast as a model a lot, huh? Well, I guess it’s better than being cast as a Rosie O’Donnell look alike! Ha ha. I don't mind modeling is my first job... For now.”

She said, “The experience with “Gossip Girl” has been euphoric. They called requesting me, which was a great feeling and being on set was amazing! It was the same set where “Sex and the City” films. I had my own dressing room right next to Blake Lively and everyone was so friendly.”

When not modeling or playing a model on TV, Caridee’s been traveling around the world – from Rome to Argentina to Canada in the last few weeks - as a spokesmodel for psorisis. Proving we’re all not quite as perfect as we look or act, Caridee actually has psorisis herself! She told me, “Being a spokesmodel for a disease that affects over 125 million people worldwide is hard, sad, but overall gratifying. When girls come up to me and say ‘ Caridee, I wanted to die because I have psorisis, and I never thought I could do anything, until I saw you,’ it makes me know I have this disease for a reason. To have that kind of impact is amazing and something I could never explain to anyone.”