"You seduce a man with your gestures," says Navi Rawat. "It's the way you look at him with your eyes." From the way the 24-year-old actress is tempting the camera, she knows of what she speaks. Playing with her wavy, dark brown hair, she pouts and parts her lips, moves her voluptuous curves into a sexy pose, and slowly lifts the hem of her dress.

This is all a bit out of character, since Rawat doesn't usually flaunt her physical assets. "Being sexy didn't get you A's," she says. See, the Germans East Indian actress "who was born in Malibu and grew up in Miami, London, and New York" -fancies herself a bookworm. She double-majored at NYU (theater arts and English and American literature), collects wine, and is an avid travel photographer.

Professionally, her theatrical resumé is filled with nonbombshell roles that affirm her substance. Rawat's big break came in a guest-starring turn in the first season of 24, in which she played Melanie, the drug lord's incarcerated girlfriend. "A lot of good things came from being in a show that was so hot," she says. Rawat was then welcomed to The O.C. with a memorable turn as Theresa, Ryan's confused, pregnant ex-girlfriend. More recently, Rawat has landed spots in several indie films, including the most recent Project Greenlight movie, Feast, in which she plays Heroine, the cannibal-fighting vixen.

These days, Rawat puts her intellect to good use in a recurring role as crime-solving mathematician Amita on CBS's Numb3rs. Much like the actress herself, Amita is, in Rawat's words, "clear, grounded, professional, and all about work." No doubt this attitude has contributed to Rawat's rising stardom, but it also comes with a downside. As the five-hour photo shoot winds to an end, she takes a long look at herself in the mirror and exclaims, "I can't believe I don't have a date for tonight and I look so hot!" So what's the way to her heart? "Sincerity," she says wistfully, before her eyes suddenly sparkle. "And diamonds are never bad."