Karen McDougal does not take her good fortune for granted. Although the 23-year-old model is excited to discuss her career, she first recalls how she's come such a long way from her home in Gary, Indiana. "My family was so poor that my sisters and I wore boys' hand-me-downs," she says. "My mother and father divorced when I was young. We came from nothing, so I'm grateful now when I look at everything I have." A self-described bookworm in high school who "tried to rebel and be cool," Karen couldn't deceive her mother without feeling guilty. "I'd sneak out of the house at night, but I would leave a note for my mom so she could contact me. I didn't want her to worry. I never wanted to cause trouble. I never got caught, thank God. I can't imagine my mom crashing a party or calling and going, 'Is my daughter there? You guys aren't drinking, are you?' "