Brooklyn Decker joins 'What To Expect When You're Expecting' cast: Could she be the first true supermodel-turned-movie star?

The model-turned-actress — like the singer-turned-actor or singer-turned-actor-turned-back-to-singer-cause-the-acting-didn’t-work-out — is nothing new in Hollywood. In fact, it’s given the industry the likes of Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry and Charlize Theron.

While Brooke Shields certainly made a splash in 1980 with The Blue Lagoon, it would be hard to argue she became a full-fledged movie star (on television, however, most certainly). Because, as far as supermodels go, none have really been able to make that transition. Just watch Cindy Crawford in Fair Game. Better yet, don’t. That’s not to say, some models haven’t become successful actresses, because there are scads of those (Rebecca Romijn, Portia de Rossi, Milla Jovovich, for example), but when it comes to supermodels as full-fledged movie stars, well, their best work has remained on the runway. (Reviews of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s performance in this weekend’s already massively successful Transformers: Dark of the Moon would suggest her skill set begins and ends at being really, really good looking.)

But, don’t lose hope yet, PopWatchers, because there’s still Brooklyn Decker! The 24-year-old Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl, who broke into film earlier this year when she appeared in the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston comedy Just Go With It, will star in their upcoming adaptation of What To Expect When You’re Expecting.

In the flick, which also stars the aforementioned Diaz, as well as Jennifer Lopez, Isla Fisher and Ed Helms, Decker will play a trophy wife named Skyler, who gets pregnant with twins by her much older husband remarkably easy, making the other moms-to-be in her social circle hate her even more.

Okay, so being an enviable woman isn’t much of a stretch for Decker. Still, while Just Go With It seemed fixated on some of her other, er, assets, Decker wasn’t by any means awful in the flick (the movie itself, however, was) and with WTEWYE, due in theaters May 11, 2012, she could easily carve a nice niche for herself in the comedy world.

But is that as far as she’ll be able to go? There’s no doubt Decker would be able to stack up parts in summer action movies and romcoms to boot, but could she ever be an all-around bankable movie star that could also appear in all genres? Would she be willing to go “ugly” to gain serious cred? To borrow some classic advice, Brooklyn, you’d better work it.

Do you think Brooklyn Decker getting cast in What To Expect When You’re Expecting means she’s on her way to being a movie star? Or do you think she’ll just be another super model with a so-so movie career?

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