Most Beautiful

Christina Applegate's New Lease on Life

Originally posted 04/29/2009 08:20AM

She has an "angel" of a boyfriend, Dutch bass player Martyn Lenoble, "who loves me from head to toe." She has a cozy Malibu beach house that she calls "the best thing I've ever done for myself." And, after a very public battle with breast cancer that has given her a gratifying "feeling of purpose," Christina Applegate has a new lease on life.

"I used to be really shy but I started to come into my own in my late 20s and early 30s," Applegate, 37, tells PEOPLE in the cover interview for the annual Most Beautiful issue. "Now I'm not afraid to speak up in a room full of people and be a part of the conversation."

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