JOY TO THE WORLD; ACTRESS JOY BRYANT HAS PLAYED THE GUYS' GIRL, IS A GIRLS' GIRL AND NOW TAKES ON A ROLE FOR COVER GIRL.

Byline: ANAMARIA WILSON

Swaddled in a huge pashmina wrap and sipping sleepily on a fruit smoothie, Joy Bryant is pondering her options. As she sits ensconced in a corner table at a downtown Manhattan hotel, the actress is deliberating between wearing a frilly lilac Alexander McQueen gown or a simpler Giles Deacon number to the Costume Institute gala that very night in early May. "I love them both. I just can't decide," she admits plaintively before digging into an enormous plate of french toast topped with berries and powdered sugar.

While most Hollywood actresses would employ a strict liquids-only diet the day of a major red-carpet event, Bryant is unapologetically feasting. "I have to …