Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda, GH; ex-Gina, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210) loves being busy. Besides playing sassy Sam on NBC's LAS VEGAS, she devotes time to several charities for African relief, along with Sojourn Services for Battered Women and Their Children. She developed a line of children's wear inspired by her most important role, that of mom to her son, Kassius. Now she's playing Paula Abdul (well, kind of) by serving as celebrity panelist in the Head & Shoulders “Head-turning Hair” contest, where one lucky winner will receive a three-day, two-night trip to New York to receive a makeover by the Head & Shoulders Style Squad and participate in a photo shoot that will appear in the June issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Here's the scoop:

Soap Opera Digest: How did this gig come about?
Vanessa Marcil: I've been in business with them for a long time. We've done several hair campaigns over the years. I love working with Proctor & Gamble.

Digest: Do you actually use Head & Shoulders?
Marcil: I do. I have that corny need to have a real connection to something. As a kid, my father used Head & Shoulders, then I started using it because I wanted to be like him and wanted to smell like him. So, I've always linked the smell of it to my dad. So, I started using it as a kid. That was the connection for me when they came to me originally to see if I wanted to do the campaign.

Digest: Tell us about this new campaign.
Marcil: I love it. This campaign is not a beauty contest. It's about who's the smartest woman in the room, the funniest woman in the room, the most successful woman in the room, the most accomplished woman in the room. I see success and accomplishment in how close you are with your family, how you feel about your contribution to the world, how you feel about what you do with your life on a daily basis. That means success.

Digest: How is it being a judge?
Marcil: Obviously, we're all keeping open minds, but I would love to see a stay-at-home mom win this contest because they are the hardest working women in the world. Their job is 24 hours a day, with few vacations or even lunch breaks. I'd love to see one of those women be a supermodel for the day. I would really get a kick out of seeing a woman who's at home with Oreo cookies smashed in her hair most of the day get to experience that.

Digest: Speaking of which, how is Kassius?
Marcil: He's great. Just great. I can actually perform Finding Nemo for you [laughs]. I know all the characters. I have no idea what's going on in the rest of the world, but I can tell you all about that!

To cast your vote in the Head & Shoulders “Head-turning Hair” contest, check out www.headturninghair.com or for more product information, check out www.pg.com.

And find out what else Marcil has been up to (like possibly reprising Brenda, and a secret engagement, perhaps?) in the 3/20 issue of Digest, on sale 3/13.