Hayden Panettiere Determined to Defy Expectations

She plays an indestructible cheerleader on Heroes.

Offscreen, Hayden Panettiere is pretty much just as fierce.

At first, Hayden seems to have perfected the glamorous celebrity aura, as evidenced by her chic, head-to-toe black ensemble â€" complete with Ray-Bans perched on her head and sexy thigh-high boots on her teeny, size-5 feet.

But Hayden Panettiere is not concerned with perpetuating Hollywood ideals.

"What's with all the salads?" she asks, checking out the menu at L.A.'s Four Seasons Hotel, where her Cosmopolitan interview is taking place.

She orders the mac and cheese, minus the ham (she's recently become a vegetarian), and when it arrives, Hayden Panettiere dives in.

Spend a little time with the talented 18-year-old actress and you'll soon discover that she also has an appetite for defying expectations.

Thanks to her role as unbreakable high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC's hit Heroes, this blonde cutie is one of TV's brightest stars.

But Hayden Panettiere would rather kick butt than be pampered.

"I do as many of my own stunts as they'll let me do," says the petite powerhouse, who's dating co-star Milo Ventimiglia. "Not a whole lot scares me."

That includes the potential perils of fame.

"I think people look at me as just another one of those girls who's going to screw up, like 'She's going to get into drugs, she's going to get into parties,'" says Hayden.

"I have the occasional glass of champagne when I'm celebrating something, but generally, I don't drink. I'm a pizza-and-a-movie girl."