Cowgirl? Not really. Before we took her north to Oregon for the Pendleton Round-Up, the closest Kym Paige had been to a Colt or a Mustang was on the Hollywood Freeway. So what's a nice L.A. girl doing at a rodeo like this? "Falling in love," she says. "With a calf roper. I love tight buns, and when
...I saw Brad Johnson in his Wranglers, well, he's one of the best calf ropers in the country, and he's got real tight buns." Kym had the time of her life in Pendleton. Johnson taught her how to "rope a steer, get him down and keep him down," and the rawhide circuit won a new fan. "The Round-Up was wild," says Kym, a reluctant actress whose TV credits include Hunter, The Love Boat, Amazing Stories and Dynasty. "Acting and actors don't turn me on. I'm into athletes, and these guys are definitely athletes. Now that I know how, I might just rope myself a cowboy."
To develop the wrist strength needed to rope, throw and brand dogies, Kym works out in a Santa Monica health club that's also frequented by Sly Stallone, Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe. On autumn Sundays, she's usually to be found at the Los Angeles Raiders game, cheering for her football hero - and sometime hangout pal - Marcus Allen.
Kym's game used to be tennis. At 12, she was one of the best junior players in Southern California, practicing nine hours a day and spending her off hours on movie sets, where her parents and both of her grandfathers worked behind the scenes. "I had a crush on Burt Reynolds," she recalls, "but what most attracted me was the make-up - scary make-up. I used to go home and draw all over my brother, playing Dracula." Old crush Burt later directed her in Amazing Stories. He may not get the chance again. "I don't really want to act," says Kym. "I want to see other places. So I'm going to travel. Then I'll come back to study special effects make-up. I want to do the scary stuff for films." Along about 1990, when you see Aliens IV or Friday the 13th - the Really Really Final Chapter, look for Kym's name in the credits. Acting's loss may be the make-up world's gain.
