Va va voom! Extras' Ashley Jensen rocks her Hollywood makeover

But it is amazing what a touch of Hollywood stardust can do.

Actress Ashley Jensen showed she had been given the Tinseltown treatment.

The star was poured into a strapless black cocktail dress and showed off a perfect tan - a far cry from her appearance as cardigan-clad Maggie Jones.

The decidedly messy hairdo Miss Jensen sported on Extras was also gone, replaced with a sleek new cut.

The 37-year-old was captured at a party to celebrate upcoming shows on ABC, the television company which broadcasts her latest series Ugly Betty.

Image consultant, Lucinda Slater, who works at Best Foot Forward, a leading group of style advisers, said: "Her appearance here is markedly different from how she looked in Britain.

"She was known I think for a more natural image, still very alluring, but less structured. Her tight outfit is brashly attention-grabbing, and she is wearing heavy make-up."

She added: "This kind of transformation is often seen in Hollywood, and I think this is mainly because stars are required to make a much more obvious impact over there.

"I don't think the natural look translates well in the US."

The Scottish actress's career took a dramatic upturn after her award-winning role in Extras, which ended last year (2006).

Miss Jensen's performance caught the eye of Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson when he appeared on the show and his agent signed her up for work in the US.

She promptly joined the cast of American comedy Ugly Betty, as the dowdy seamstress Christina McKinney, and moved to Los Angeles with her actor partner Terry Beesley.

The couple got married in California earlier this year.

Another actress who has recently undergone a dramatic Hollywood re-invention is former Eastenders star Michelle Ryan.

The performer, who has won a lead role in new American series The Bionic Woman, was recently pictured boasting a smart new look at an event in Los Angeles.

And actress Emily Blunt, once noted for her natural fresh-faced beauty, started to sport a heavily made-up picture perfect image after she starred in The Devil Wears Prada last year.

Another notable Hollywood convert is former star of The Office, Lucy Davis.

She famously whittled her once curvy physique down to a petite size eight when she moved to Los Angeles in 2004.

Although some Hollywood insiders insisted she had succumbed to the 'Los Angeles diet', Miss Davis denied this.

Commenting on her transformation, she said at the time: "I've had my career as an incentive for years and one day it just happened. I like being slimmer."