Interview She's All Kid Ventura County sitcom star likes playing in Hollywood By Dave Mason December 30, 2003 Billi Bruno jumped with delight on the trampoline at her eastern Ventura County home. Later, the active 7-year-old star of the ABC sitcom "According to Jim" came back to Earth and sat on her bed in a child's mini-paradise; her small, crowded upstairs room was full of stuffed animals and toys including a life-sized doll; a closet featured Belle's dress from "Beauty and the Beast." Paradise or not, Billi could only sit for so long. Soon she was off her bed, walking to her door to point to photos of Christina Aguilera, 'NSync, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. "These are Mary-Kate jeans," Billi said, pointing to her pants. She talked about another star pictured on that door. "I want to be Hilary Duff," she said with a big smile, explaining she wants to be both a singer and an actress. "I want to be Michelle Branch." Right now, she's doing fine as Billi Bruno. Without the aid of a trampoline, Billi leaped into stardom at age 4 when she succeeded on her first Hollywood audition and got the role of daughter Gracie on "According to Jim." Even by then, she was somewhat familiar with Hollywood, having tagged along with her sisters, actors Chelsea, now 14, and Hailey, 12, when they went on auditions for TV and movie roles. (Both sisters have succeeded in the TV and movie industry. Chelsea played Megan in the made-for-TV sequel "Home Alone 4," which aired Nov. 3 on ABC. And Hailey did audio dialogue replacement for "Dr. Seuss' 'The Cat in the Hat.' ") Even though Billi wasn't the one trying out at her sisters' auditions, the producers would talk about how much the youngest girl impressed them, said their mother, Sheila "She's very, very outgoing and honest," Sheila said as she sat next to her daughter's desk. And Billi's father, Rocco, said their daughter is a natural. "She's always singing and dancing." (Both parents are Realtors, a job that allows them the flexibility to help their daughters with their careers.) "According to Jim" has given Billi enough fame that her parents asked that, for reasons of safety and privacy, the Star not publish her city of residence; the girl was born in Los Angeles but has grown up in east Ventura County. In addition, Billi uses Bruno as a stage name; it is not her family name, which her parents have not released publicly In addition to "According to Jim," Billi has appeared in commercials; in one, she shows her knack for twirling a hula hoop and jumping rope. On "According to Jim," Billi plays Gracie, one of the daughters of Jim (Jim Belushi) and Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith). Santa Barbara native Taylor Atelian, 8, plays Gracie's sister, Ruby. Billi's a TV star on a sitcom now in its third season, but she's still very much a kid, right down to talking about the tables of food on the set. "Jim is really funny," she said as she sat on her bed next to her cat. "He won't let me and Taylor get fat. Taylor and I are not allowed to eat doughnuts. Craft services are very good; mostly we eat macaroni and cheese." The "According to Jim" set itself is a friendly one, Sheila said. "All of them are very warm; all of them are very affectionate. It's just like a huge family." And just like a dad, Belushi keeps track of Billi's and Taylor's heights by marking them on a wall of the set of their TV home. He speaks affectionately of his pint-size co-star. "She's extremely natural," he said of Billi in a statement released through a publicist. "She hasn't been ruined by bad acting classes. She doesn't act like a TV star; she's 100 percent kid." Billi proved his point during the recent visit at her home. As her mom and the publicist listened, Billi talked about how she gets to play a "brat" on the show; she noted one particular episode. "I'm supposed to pull Taylor's hair, and Taylor is supposed to punch me in the nose," Billi said. "(The makeup artists) put red stuff on it and made it look like it bled." She grinned; this was cool stuff for a kid to talk about. "I'm mostly a brat with Uncle Andy (Larry Joe Campbell's character, an architect in Jim's firm)," she said, "because he's supposed to be really mean to me." But Billi also gets some dramatic moments mixed in with the comedy. There is the episode in which she grows attached to a cockatiel she has found. "I go and name it Daffy and all of a sudden newspapers are everywhere," Billi said excitedly, explaining the bird had flown through the house and made a mess. Billi speaks affectionately of her onscreen family. Regarding her TV mom, a veteran of "Ally McBeal" and "Melrose Place," Billi smiled and said: "Courtney is really funny. She has the cutest face when she laughs." "According to Jim" is taped at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, where another ABC sitcom, "Less Than Perfect," is taped. And Billi has become pals with "Less Than Perfect" star Zachary Levi, a former Ventura resident who loves clowning around with children at ABC press parties and other events. "Zach's like her big brother," Sheila said. Billi has become pals with other celebrities as well. "According to Jim" star Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who plays Dana, the young aunt of Billi's character, and Brad Paisley, the country singer married to the actress, have visited Billi's family. "Kim went to our house while we were watching 'Fear Factor,' and she jumped on the trampoline with Billi," Sheila said. At Billi's request, Brad Paisley included the girl in his video called "Celebrity"; it also features Billi's co-star Taylor. "Me and Taylor are going to make a band," Billi predicted. In the meantime, they get to travel. In January, "According to Jim" will take Billi and the rest of the cast to Florida to film an episode on the Disney cruise line. (Disney owns ABC.) It's no wonder Billi loves her job. "She never has said, 'I don't want to go to work,' " said Sheila, who is with her every day on the "According to Jim" set in Studio City. The mother added that her daughter, whose work hours are limited by state law, is still having a good childhood, full of activities including gymnastics. Billi said she enjoys meeting celebrities in her line of work. "I met Pamela Anderson," who guest-starred on "Less Than Perfect," she said. She also gets to say "hi" on a regular basis to Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle," a Fox sitcom that also is filmed at CBS Studio Center. And Billi could not stress enough how much she wants to meet the Olsen twins. When she isn't acting (or jumping on a trampoline), Billi likes writing stories and poems in which she says she's thankful for her family. Even with their stinking feet. Billi laughed and sprung up. "You guys' feet kind of stink," she told her mother, with a mischievous grin. Sheila laughed. "No, they don't. You're full of baloney," she answered back, smiling. Sitting down, Billi leaned back and laughed. She's all kid.