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(NEW YORK) – Christina Applegate graces the cover of PEOPLE’s 20th annual special issue featuring the “100 Most Beautiful” stars of 2009.  Joined by stars including Carrie Underwood, Rashida Jones, and Heidi Klum, Applegate makes PEOPLE’s list for the third time.

In an exclusive sit-down interview, Applegate opens up about her reaction to her cancer diagnosis last March.  “It’s a roller coaster of emotions.  But there was a calm about what I had to do…I really tried to take everything in stride and one day at a time.”  By July the actress opted to undergo a double mastectomy.  “You have to get through the physical transformations, then buck up, go to work and try to be the normal, happy Christina for everyone around you,” says Applegate, who had reconstructive breast surgery last November.  Applegate tells PEOPLE “it’s hard” to see yourself naked.  “You don’t look the same anymore and you never will.  A part of you is gone…It’s a decision that you made to save your life.”

PEOPLE also talks with Applegate about her boyfriend, Dutch bass player Martyn Lenoble, who “loves me from head to toe.”  She “absolutely” wants kids and “absolutely” wants to get married again (she divorced Johnathon Schaech in 2007).  “…I was always looking for what my perfect type was, and I never really found it until now.  He’s an angel,” says Applegate.

Asked about the recent paparazzi photo taken of her smoking, Applegate explains, “The day I found out I had cancer I quit anything that was bad for me that I was putting in my body.  Over the last year, with everything that’s happened [including the death of her ex-boyfriend Lee Grivas in July], there have been a couple of times that I’ve slipped up.  That was one of those rare occasions…”

Applegate also chats with PEOPLE about her beauty secrets (suntan over spray tan), her favorite personality trait (“My sense of humor.  I like laughing and making people laugh – not just on set, but in life.”), and her beauty hang-up.  “I have short legs and it drives me crazy,” she admits.  “There are people, like Cameron Diaz, who have incredibly long legs…I’d love to wake up to them one day, but it’s just not going to happen!”

Kicking off PEOPLE’s “Stars Without Makeup” section are Eva Mendes and Cindy Crawford, who tells PEOPLE, “10 years ago it would have been harder for me to do this picture…I’m just more comfortable with myself now.”  Also in this section, which is made up of stars who wore nothing more than moisturizer for their close-ups, are the girls of 90210 (Jessica Stroup, Annalynne McCord, Jessica Lowndes and Shenae Grimes), Claire Danes, Ciara, Amanda Bynes, Idol judge Kara DioGuardi and Terminator: Salvation’s Moon Bloodgood.

After a historic election year, there is still no bigger celebrity than President Barack Obama.  As his inner circle in the White House works hard to change minds, they’re also turning heads at the same time.  First Lady Michelle Obama tells PEOPLE, “I had a father and a brother who thought I was beautiful, and they made me feel that way every single day.  I grew up with very strong male role models who thought I was smart and fast and funny, so I heard that a lot.  I know that there are many young girls who don’t hear it.  But I was fortunate…”  Also included in “Barack’s Beauties” are White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, White House Chef Sam Kass and others.

For PEOPLE’s “Love That Smile” section, stars including Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Halle Berry and others open up about the things that make them smile.  Comedic actors and late night hosts take over PEOPLE’s “Pretty Funny” section, which highlights folks who prove humor can be hot!  Late Night host Jimmy Fallon says, “Thank God my wife finds a sense of humor attractive, or else I’d be in trouble.”  Also making the “Funny” list are Rashida Jones, Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig, Amy Poehler, Steve Harvey, Leslie Mann, Portia De Rossi and E!’s Chelsea Handler.

Christina Aguilera and her son Max (15 months) are featured in PEOPLE’s section on “Beauty After Baby,” where four moms pose with their babies and share the joys of motherhood.  Max “brings out a different side of me that I’m really starting to enjoy…” says the singer.  Other moms include Angie Harmon & daughter Emery (4 months), Milla Jovovich & daughter Ever (18 months) and Today Show host Natalie Morales & son Luke (8 months).

Newcomers to the “100 Most Beautiful” issue include Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Dev Patel, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Emma Roberts, Channing Tatum, Natalie Morales, Keke Palmer, Emma Watson, Tristan Wilds and many others.

For more information, and exclusive video from PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful photo shoots, visit www.people.com/mostbeautiful