Perhaps the last thing you'd want your child's teacher to know is that you design naughty underwear. So the day Amanda Diaz's daughter Sarah brought a Frederick's of Hollywood catalog to her fifth-grade show-and-tell, Diaz thought she "might be in big trouble." Sarah's teacher did call, but not to scold. Says Diaz with a laugh: "She wanted to place an order."

No less surprising is the woman behind one of Hollywood's raciest underwear emporiums. The epitome of suburban normalcy, Diaz, 51, is married to a municipal court judge (Rudy Diaz, 56), has three daughters (Sarah, 20; Jenni, 15; and Andi, 12) and lives in unhip Burbank. She is also the brains behind such innovations as silicone bra "outplants," which boost cup size. The head designer of Frederick's since 1989, Diaz has kept such timeless favorites as see-through pajamas and crotchless panties, while adding less risqué staples such as lace camisoles. In so doing she has helped transform the company from a mostly mail-order business into a 204-store, $200 million-plus empire with something for every woman (not to mention famous clients such as Jerry Hall). "She lives and breathes foundation design," says Karyn Monget, lingerie editor at Women's Wear Daily.

The daughter of a film industry executive in Toluca Lake, Calif., Diaz fell in love with the glam window displays of Frederick's as a child, eventually joining the store in 1984. These days she revels in wowing suburban cocktail partygoers with her line of work. "There's a goddess inside all of us," Diaz says. "All we need is a little help getting her out."