Yesterday we saw both nude photos of Twilight star Ashley Greens, 22, and a picture of her smooching Chace Crawford in the back of a limo outside LAX airport. Was that just a coincidence or is the young Ashley trying step out of the shadow created by the hot relationship between Twilight’s top two stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart? Ashley plays vampire psychic Alice, and she’s getting some attention now that these photos are out.

Ashley lawyered up very quickly and sent cease and desist notices to blogs and websites that published those naked self portraits. According to her lawyer, they’re “illegal and are being unlawfully displayed.” It took Vanessa Hudgens months to issue cease and desists on her first set of nude photos and by then they’d already served their purpose and she’d benefited from all the publicity.

So did Ashley leak these photos herself? The timing is pretty good for her as she’s currently promoting New Moon, out in November, and just appeared at the Teen Choice Awards. If she did do it, she’s smart to have sent out legal notices right after the photos were leaked. It either makes it seem like she’s really concerned about the violation of her privacy – or like she was already prepared to make it seem like the photos were released without her consent. She does look very attractive and well-groomed in them.

Meanwhile it’s good sense to get involved with Gossip Girl hottie Chace Crawford. The last we heard about Chace’s lovelife was in early June when just about every tabloid reported that he was involved with Sports Illustrated model Etzi Ginzberg. According to a source quoted by E! Online’s Ted Casablanca these two have “known each other for a while,” and “used to hook up actually back when he lived in L.A. It was never anything too serious. It was before either of them were famous.” How convenient for Ashley that she’s back with Chace right when it could help her career. There were at least two photographers outside the car when she was kissing Chace because I’ve seen those photos at two different photo agencies. So, is her career on the rise and does that make her more of a target or is she doing whatever she can to make sure she gets some attention right when she needs it?

Ashley Greene is shown out on 4/3/09. Credit: WENN.com and 5/31/09 at the MTV Movie Awards. Credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures