New Heroes cast member Kristen Bell yelped a heartfelt “yay” at the thought of leaving the teen world behind.

“I always have played about 10 years younger than I am, which is a major blessing, even in real life,” said Bell, the 27-year-old former star of Veronica Mars. “My family is very petite and I have a young-looking face and good genes, I guess. I’m thankful to my parents.

“That being said, as an actor, there are certain things I’m going through in my own life in my late 20s and that’s what you draw upon in your acting. So I hope I’ll be accepted playing closer to my age.

“I know I still look a lot younger. But I’m thankful to be out of teenage-ville a little bit. I don’t dislike it at all, I’ve just had my fill of it. I’ve had a lot of it.”

Bell will make her first appearance as a sinister character named Elle in the next episode of Heroes (Monday on Global and NBC).

“Unfortunately it might be a little bit of a tease, because I start in episode five (of the second season, which airs Monday), and then I’m not in six or seven,” Bell said. “But episodes eight and nine have a lot of Elle.”

Elle has a heretofore undisclosed power and she was raised by the “company” that is at the heart of the plot in Heroes. She has ties to many of the characters and when we first encounter her, she is looking for Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Ventimiglia).

“I think one can assume that she finds him,” said series creator Tim Kring. It isn’t known yet whether the Peter-Elle connection will be linked to the show’s foray to Canada, which may be introduced next week and definitely will be flushed out in episode six.

Bell shot down rumours that she spurned an offer to join the cast of Lost (CTV, ABC) in favour of Heroes.

“The media might have gotten a little bit ahead of themselves,” Bell said. “I had been spoken to about possibly doing a role on Lost. I was never actually offered one.

“That certainly would have been a wonderful opportunity.

“But I had been such a fan of Heroes from the very beginning, this would have been the dreamiest situation I could have possibly thought up as my next job. So when Tim came forward, I just sort of pounced on it.”

Bell’s desire to exit the teen world notwithstanding, she maintains ties to high school as the voice of the unknown Internet blogger on Gossip Girl (CTV, CW).

“It’s sort of an easy deal for me,” Bell said.

With Hollywood romance as fleeting as it is, sometime you gotta go right to the source to confirm rumors. And Kristen Bell was more than happy to report on the status of her co-stars supposed hookup.

The new Heroes starlet was in attendance for the Alliance for Children�€™s Rights benefit in Beverly Hills earlier this week. She definitively denied that her co-stars Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia were anything more than friends.

Bell told press, “They’re just great friends. They’re not dating.” And it sounds like singlehood is running rampant on the set of the NBC drama�€? Bell is without a beau as well.

She commented, “Im taking single life moment by moment. It’s uncomfortable for me because I haven’t been single in a long time. I’m a homebody. I’m a Blockbuster girl at heart.”

Something tells us that with a look as hot as her career, Kristen won�€™t be single for long.

Kristen was at the Christian Louboutin Party Hosted By Saks yesterday. Pictures are in the gallery.

Kristen Bell can expect some hair-raising experiences as a new member of the cast of NBC’s Heroes this season �€“ but what frightens the actress in real life is the singles scene.

“Dating is scary,” Bell, 27, tells PEOPLE while also revealing that she and her boyfriend, film producer Kevin Mann, recently broke up.

Being on her own does offer certain advantages, the former Veronica Bell star also says. For one thing, it leaves time for some healthy introspection.

“When you are single, you’ve got to be accountable,” she explains. “You wake up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about who you really are. It’s good. But dating is scary.”

Should she start to feel lonely, Bell has an entire group of new friends to contend with: the tight-knit Heroes cast, with whom she’s already enjoyed some after-hours fun.

“We went bowling two weekends ago. Jack Coleman organized a big bowling extravaganza,” Bell says. “They are just a really nice group of normal people, and I love them. I couldn’t have imagined a warmer welcome.”

And on the topic of who has been a personal hero of hers, Bell points to her father.

“He always had a really good balance of affection and respect and dignity that he taught us growing up,” she says. “I think that is why I am so driven as a woman in my career. There is a lot of glamour and glitz to [Hollywood], which is such a payoff, but there’s a lot of heartache as well. … I think he created a really nice balance of knowing what reality is, and what playing the business is.”

I have added an episode still of Kristen in Heroes.

Kristen was at Elie Tahari Boutique Opening In Saks Fifth Avenue yesterday. I added pictures to the gallery!

There is a clip where Kristen encourages young people to sign up for the Do Something DelMonte Grant, which awards the winning applicant $2500 to run a program to improve nutrition, fitness, and healthy lifestyle in their community.
You can check out the clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8oBvNvg7Gc

Or for more information visit:
http://www.dosomething.org

Any US or Canadian resident under 26 years old can apply- applications are open through November 9th.

Applicants should start with a great idea that does something good for their community:
- Do their friends eat junk food all day without a care in the world?
- Does their community lack good physical fitness options?
- Do they want to create healthier lives in their school and community?

Thanks for letting me know, Naomi!