Celebrity Buzz: Karina Smirnoff, Nelly, Joanna Garcia Reminisce On 'When I Was 17'

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Karina Smirnoff, Nelly, Joanna Garcia Reminisce On 'When I Was 17'

Stars remember fake teeth and bad kisses on latest episode.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Nelly on "When I Was 17"
Photo: MTV

Karina Smirnoff is known for her powerhouse ballroom moves on "Dancing With the Stars," but when she was younger, her wardrobe sometimes stole the spotlight on the dance floor.

As a teen, the Russian dancer made the rounds at local restaurants hungry for entertainment. On the latest episode of "When I Was 17," Smirnoff remembered a performance where she forgot to swap out her granny panties for full-coverage boy shorts.

"Every time I would do a turn, you could see these multicolored polka dot underwear. The audience went crazy, they're like screaming, clapping and I was thinking, 'Wow, they really like the dance ... this is cool,' " she recalled. One of Smirnoff's fellow dancers eventually let her know what the audience's reaction was really about. "But the other couple, the girl, pulled me aside, she goes like, 'Change your underwear. You're still in your underwear!' "

Like Smirnoff, St. Louis rapper Nelly also had a way of getting money when he was 17. Unlike Smirnoff, his income was based solely on luck.

"We used to shoot dice in the band room, in the bathroom. If there was a crap game, I was getting out of class to attend that crap game," he said. "This is how I got money for the new J's [Jordans] that was coming out; this is how I got my lunch money. This is how I ate."

The budding MC was also into gold teeth but couldn't afford the genuine article. However, when he scored a big win he knew exactly where to spend his cash.

"I won that 120 bucks and I was like, 'I'm gonna get a real one now,' " he said. "So I went and I got a real one."

Similar to Nelly's obsession with gold fronts, "Reba" actress Joanna Garcia was dreaming of one thing when she was 17. The object of her desire was hunky fellow actor James Marsden.

"I was still on [Nickelodeon's] 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' and doing other shows here and there," Garcia recalled. "I did a show called 'Second Noah,' which Jimmy Marsden was my first onscreen kiss. I was hired for the job, and I thought, 'Wow, this guy is dreamy.' "

However, the smooch ultimately wasn't the romantic occasion she had in mind.

"I think it was really embarrassing and weird for him because I was the age of his, like, little sister," she said. "My mom was there. It was the worst possible scenario you could ever imagine. I was terrified."

"When I Was 17" airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. on MTV

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