Even though Sara Foster was born in Los Angeles and is starring on 90210, she's fast becoming a Floridian.

The actress who plays witchy Jen Clarke (the sister of AnnaLynne McCord's character) on the CW remake is engaged to tennis pro Tommy Haas, who lives in Sarasota. This means a lot of coast-to-coast travel.

``It's a battle for sure -- exhausting,'' says Foster by phone from L.A. ``I'm Gold Medallion on Delta.''

The couple met through a mutual friend a few years ago, but Foster, 28, had her eye on the 31-year-old German hunk for a while.

``I was watching a tennis match with a girlfriend and Tommy's face came on the screen and we're like, `Why do we never watch tennis?' '' Foster says, laughing. ``In person, he's abnormally good looking and a professional athlete to top it off.''

Besides the constant plane rides for the romantic commute, Foster is enjoying her time in the Hollywood sun. She has two movies coming out -- an office comedy called Demoted with Sean Astin and Michael Vartan, and Psych 9, in which she plays a mental patient.

``It's the first time I've carried a movie,'' says Foster of the dark thriller set in Prague. ``Playing a psych patient was hands-down the hardest thing I've ever done. To be in that raw, emotional state. I was in tears for seven weeks.''

Playing troublemaker Jen on TV is also a hoot, but Foster is trying to

give her black-hearted character a little depth.

``At first, when I read the script, I kept saying to myself, `Channel Heather Locklear, channel Heather Locklear.' But now we're trying to ground her a little bit,'' Foster explains. ``She really isn't as horrible as she appears. Yes, she suffers from major arrogance, but you'll see her start to develop as a person.''

Talk about being grounded. As her star grows, Foster -- the daughter of music producer David Foster -- remains down to earth. Could be due to her ``normal'' upbringing.

``It was normal if you consider waking up and seeing Barbra Streisand making coffee in your kitchen,'' says Foster, who realizes fame is fleeting.

``I know there's no easy way in and you have to constantly prove yourself,'' she says.

Then again, there's always the option of giving it all up and moving to Florida full-time.

``The humidity is so good for my skin,'' she says. ``I'm so happy when I'm there. You never know.''

-- MADELEINE MARR

90210 airs 8 p.m. Tuesdays on WSFL-CW 39.

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