Martin

Web posted on:
Tuesday, December 15, 1998 4:16:35 PM EST

From Correspondent Laurin Sydney

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Kellie Martin might be just 23 years old, but she's already been operating on the small screen for 16 years. Her most recent triumph was winning a spot on NBC's super-hit "ER," and she might just be getting warmed up.

This holiday season, she hosts a Christmas special on Pax TV ("Hollywood's Greatest Christmas Moments," premieres Tuesday night), celebrates the 100th episode of "ER," and recently suprised her fans by getting engaged to her longtime boyfriend, law student J. Keith Christian.

She's got a few more secrets to reveal as well.

"I hosted the pilot of 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' which people don't know," she says. "I was 13 or 14, so I've hosted before but not a Christmas special. I was on 'Baywatch' too. I was in a bikini. I didn't have much to show but I was in a bikini. I could still be on 'Baywatch' if I play my cards right."

Martin makes her debut on "ER"

Martin seems to have already played her cards right. She has starred in eight TV movies, had a lead role in three television shows before joining "ER," and received an Emmy nomination for her work as Becca Thatcher in "Life Goes On."

Then she got the break she was waiting for. She was a junior at Yale University when she was offered the role of "ER"'s newest intern.

"I didn't even have to think twice about giving up school for a while," she says. "I mean, I'll graduate eventually but I was so excited because it's the only show I watch, and it's the only show that I really respect on television."

"I've been working since I was 7 years old and this is the best group of people I have ever encountered -- the most professional, the most fun, the most relaxed," she says. "And I'm still the new kid and I'm still very much in awe of them but I still feel like I'm part of the family."