Cover Look.(Claire Danes)

Cover Look

Staged Beauty

Who? Claire Danes. What? The December cover of Allure, shot by Michael Thompson. Where? At Lux Studio in Chelsea, New York City, just minutes from SoHo, where she grew up. When? September 23. Why? In Stage Beauty, she plays a seventeenth-century actress opposite real-life love interest Billy Crudup, and in Shopgirl, she's a disillusioned woman choosing between a struggling musician (Jason Schwartzman) and a wealthy man (Steve Martin). The Natural: Danes arrived with her hair messy from sleep and her face free of makeup. She wore a gray zippered sweatshirt over a white T-shirt, black gaucho pants, and Moroccan sandals. Eight Down: Between shots, manicurist Elisa Ferri did the New York magazine crossword puzzle. Stumped by a clue -- "The French king who couldn't chew" -- she turned to Danes, who suggested "Louis XIV?," putting that Yale education to work. My So-Called Lunch: Danes spends hours in the gym and doesn't avoid the caterer's table. For lunch, she had spinach ravioli, salad, asparagus, and beets. Later, she polished off a slice of apple tart. Little Women: Danes started acting at 12 years old, but she was never wild. "I worry about those two," she says, referring to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. "They are like panda bears. Everybody's just watching them, waiting to see if they'll survive." Parting Shots: For the last photograph of the day, Danes was doused in water, but she didn't seem to mind. Before leaving, she wiped off her ...