Scott's World -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

, March 5 (UPI) -- Look out Martha Stewart! You too, Oprah.

Here comes Susie Coelho.

Coelho is an entrepreneurial beauty with a penchant for style, decor, flair and charismatic panache to spare.

The lithe Coelho is perhaps the best known Indian in the United States.

Although she doesn't exploit her nationality, she exudes distinct charm.

Not since Sabu in "Elephant Boy" (1937) has there been as prominent an Indian in these parts.

She is charming to be sure and exotic to a fault, but she also is essentially American, having been reared in this country since infancy.

Coelho was born of Indian parents in Sussex, England, and brought to the United States where her father studied at Harvard. The family moved to Pennsylvania where her father taught at Haverford College.

"My Dad's ancestors were Indian and Portuguese. My mother was altogether Indian, born in Madras. My father lived in Bombay and Goa." Susie said this week.

"I'm definitely an international chick. We moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., where Dad worked for the National Institute of Health. I grew up in D.C. And I lived in Paris with my family for three years."

Little did Susie realize in her formative years that France would inculcate in her infallible taste in color, style, flair and a certain je ne sais quoi that would make her unique in any culture. Her beauty enhances her insouciant persona.

"Travel has made me an eclectic mix. I've lived and worked in many big cities modeling in Milan, New York and Paris, Munich and Los Angeles," she said.

She became a high fashion model under contract to Eileen Ford in New York. She acted in movies and became the second wife of Sonny Bono, which Coelho admits was a lucky stroke for her.

Bono had been a music superstar with his wife Cher and would later be elected to the House of Representatives from Palm Springs, Calif.

After his death, Bono's third wife, Mary, took his seat in congress where she has since distinguished herself.

"Sonny was a very special man," Coelho says. "He taught me a lot. He was a giving, lovable man. Cher and Mary and I became better women when he entered our lives.

"Sonny instilled in all of us his incredible ability to believe in himself. The three of us are very self-confident women."

Susie has written her first book, "Susie Coelho's Everyday Styling," subtitled "Easy Tips for Home, Garden and Entertaining" (Simon & Schuster).

The coffee table-style book is filled with photographs of her creations from flower arrangements to interior design, almost all of which were taken in her own home.

Now remarried to Robert Rounds, an investment broker, they share a suburban home which she has made a showcase for her remarkable decorating talent.

Happily, several photographs include Susie and her daughter Hailey Dior, 2, and son Hutton, 11.

After divorcing Bono, Coelho opened two retail stores in L.A. named "A Star is Worn," selling wardrobes and costumes owned by famed movie and TV stars.

"After Hutton arrived I spent my time decorating the house and working on the garden," she said. "I didn't want to go back to covering award shows and interviewing celebrities for TV.

"So I made a list of things I loved to do, and it was all style-oriented: gardening, home decorating, clothes, jewelry and the things people wanted to discuss with me.

"I wasn't sure why, but friends came to me for inspiration; maybe because I was a model or had a sense of style. I don't know, maybe they liked my house. Or my energy.

"After I'd helped them redecorate their living room or something I'd come away fulfilled and happy. They call and thank me profusely.

'I'd expanded their horizons and changed their lives in a small little way.

"I decided I didn't know where it would go but Martha Stewart was going great guns and I thought I'd do what I loved. So I launched into life-styling.

"I found an agent, Anjelica Holliday, and convinced her to help. I told her I wanted to help people create beauty in their homes and understand why it's important to be surrounded by beauty.

"I want to help people develop their own taste and style. I hope to inspire them do use their own unique imaginations.

"My 'Surprise Gardener' is on Home and Garden Television Tuesday night's in primetime. I contribute to NBC's 'Today Show' on entertaining.

"I write a column for Palm Springs Life Magazine and make personal appearances across the country at home and garden shows.

"I'm making Susie Coelho Enterprises a multi-media company. We have another lifestyle show in development and another book on the way regarding clients for home and garden development."

Look to your laurels, Martha!