Queens house is an unlikely 'Ugly Betty' co-star

[Brian Damage]

The filming of "Ugly Betty" has switched from Los Angeles to New York this season, but the Suarez clan has always called Jackson Heights home.

The Queens house where Betty and her fictional family dwell really exists in the borough - and has been seen on the show since the pilot episode.

Real-life owner Francois Guerrier remembers when a location scout first asked if he'd allow his home to double as Betty's base back in 2006.

"I thought it was a scam," says Guerrier, a 46-year-old real estate company owner. "Somebody rings your door at 9 a.m. saying they want to use your house to film a show. If you live in New York, you get very skeptical about things."

But he soon warmed up to the idea, and several exterior and interior scenes have been shot there over the past two years.

The mint-green, one-family detached Colonial sits on 92nd St., near Elmhurst Ave. It's been in the Guerrier family since 1969, shortly after they immigrated from Haiti two years earlier.

"I think [filming here] is a big plus because it shows people who watch the show the cosmopolitan nature of Queens," says Guerrier. "It's a very big melting pot here."

Betty, played by America Ferrera, sits on the home's front stoop in one scene. Another was actually filmed in the Guerrier's living room, with the family's furniture making a camoe.

Guerrier no longer lives in the house, but his 88-year-old mom, Annette, still does. Annette has no problem hanging out in her upstairs bedroom while the cast and crew take over downstairs.

"She was on the second floor," says Guerrier. "They pretty much took control of the first floor when they were filming. She was just old to stay upstairs and it didn't disturb her at all.

"They filmed in the living room, and took the dining room as their command center."

And Annette wasn't even star struck. "Nothing really rattles her too much," says Guerrier.

The family got to meet Ferrera and the actors who play her family members at an "'Ugly Betty Block Party'" over the summer, thrown to thank residents for the inconvenience of filming on their street.

The Guerriers posed for pictures with Tony Plana (Betty's dad, Ignacio), Ana Ortiz (Betty's sister, Hilda) and Mark Indelicato (Hilda's son, Justin).

"We didn't get a chance to meet America Ferrera that much because she was tied up with the local politicians," says Guerrier.

Socializing with celebrities isn't the only advantage of having your home used in a hit show. The family is also paid about $5,000 for every shoot that uses the house.

For those fans hoping to get a glimpse of the inside of Betty's house, don't dream of dropping in.

"This is not a museum," Guerrier warns.

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