My Favorite Actresses
My favorite ladies of film. A few are crushes, a few I've actually met, all have earned my respect for their craft.
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Ksenia Solo is a Latvian-Canadian actress. She was born in Riga, Latvia in to an artistic family. She is a recipient of many prestigious Canadian awards, including 3 Gemini Awards and a nominee of the first ever Canadian Screen Awards. Ksenia was the youngest actor in Canadian television history to win two consecutive Gemini Awards.
Solo is a highly versatile actress that comes from a classical ballet background. She is best known for playing the ambitious 'Veronica', rival to Natalie Portman's 'Nina' in the 5-time Oscar nominated film Black Swan, manipulative and disturbed 'Holly' opposite Dominic Monaghan in the psychological thriller Pet, and young and innocent 'Lucy' opposite Maria Bello in In Search of Fellini.
Solo's ability to transform has also earned her critical acclaim for her roles on television including fan favorite 'Kenzi' in the fantasy-noir Syfy hit Lost Girl, real life socialite and wife of America's most infamous traitor 'Peggy Shippen' alongside Jamie Bell in AMC's historical drama TURN: Washington's Spies and Cosima's romantic love interest 'Shay' opposite Tatiana Maslany in BBC's Orphan Black.
No stranger to the comic book world, Ksenia played Dodge in the highly anticipated FOX/DreamWorks comic book adaptation of Locke & Key, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and directed by Mark Romanek. Her other work includes starring on CW's Life Unexpected alongside Brittany Robertson, Shiri Appleby and Austin Butler and playing Stephen Colbert's daughter in the The Ron Howard produced pilot The Untitled Ken Finkleman project, to name a few.
Solo's most recent indie feature, Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle, directed by Oscar winner Mike Van Diem, received a standing ovation at its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Ksenia had to learn Italian for her role in the film.
In 2018 Solo was offered the role of Susie Miller in History Channels Project Blue Book, produced by Academy Award Winner Robert Zumeckis. The show premiered on January 8th, 2019 and became a break out hit as the most watched show on cable television. Project Blue Book was picked up for season 2 and will begin filming in the summer of 2019.The Very Top of the list. I'm crushing on her, I've interacted with her, and she's an excellent performer.
I started watching Lost Girl solely because I found her part to be so incredibly enjoyable. Whenever her character wasn't in a scene, I switched off. In the middle of a dark Buffy-CSI SyFy drama, her gothic pixie personality is an absolute delight. She lights up every scene she's in, and acts like a sister to Bo. The show itself may roll a few eyes, but her performance alone makes it a personal favorite.
She's also a wonderful human being who I had the privilege of seeing at this tiny rock show in LA. She spent the whole set cheering the band on and taking photos to help give them exposure. Seeing that, it didn't feel right to go "Holy crap! You're Ksenia Solo! I friggin' love you!" and make the moment about her rather than the band she was working so hard to support.
Lastly, she's the most beautiful person I've ever seen on the planet. Not pretty like supermodel or pretty like "girl next door". Beautiful like a statue of Aphrodite. Never been so rocked to the core by a person.- Actress
- Producer
Rachel Alice Marie Skarsten was born April 23, 1985 in Toronto, to Mary Aileen (Self) and Dr. Stan Skarsten. She has a younger brother, Jonathan.
Rachel danced for the Royal Academy of Dance for twelve years, earning her Elementary Level with distinction in 1999. After an injury to her ankle, Rachel was forced to give up dance and turned to sports. She played at the highest level of competitive female hockey as a goalie for the Leaside Wildcats in Toronto, where in 2002 she won the Toronto City Championships in a shootout.
One of her first movie roles was Caroline Lofton on Virginia's Run (2002)
At 16 she won a major role -- that of superhero Black Canary/Dinah Lance -- in the WB series Birds of Prey (2002), after being discovered by Producer Brian Robins. After the show was canceled, she moved home from Los Angeles eager to take a hiatus from acting, to graduate high school and pursue an undergraduate degree. After graduating from Earl Haig Secondary School in the top 10% of her class, and being named an Ontario Scholar, she was accepted into the prestigious Canadian Queen's University. There she completed a double major in English Literature and Classical History. After graduation, she backpacked around Western Europe for four months with friends. She moved back to Los Angeles in the spring of 2008.
Following this, she returned to acting with arcs on Flashpoint, The Listener and The LA Complex.
Rachel represented the role of Tamsin in the supernatural crime drama television series Lost Girl (2010-2016), Andrea in the successful movie Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Queen Elizabeth I in the CW series Reign; she was seen too in Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game (2017) and recently she played Poppy Langmore in the second season of Bravo's Imposters (2018), from Universal Cable Productions.The only Hollywood actresses I can say has been my friend. For one glorious day, I met her at a charity event and we were best buds. She gave free hugs and convinced me to send a video valentine to a friend of mine back home whom I affectionately referred to as "Tam Tam" (one of her character's nicknames in Lost Girl, which she loved that we used). She is so explosively warm and friendly, I think she may be one of the best people on earth.
She is the first and only line of dialogue from 50 Shades of Grey that is worth remembering; "Mr. Grey will see you now". And for someone so adept at playing intense and hostile and sharply vicious; she's an absolute sweetheart of a person.- Actress
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Eden was born December 26, 1991. She was raised in Los Angeles, California, where she resides with her family. Eden began acting at the age of 8, participating in school plays and local theater. She has done numerous commercials, including voice-over work. Eden also appeared in the short film Stuck (2001), a few years before landing a permanent role on ABC's short-lived sitcom Sons & Daughters (2006), as Carrie -- the precocious teenage niece. Shortly after hearing that her contract would not be renewed for a second season, Eden was soon booked to appear in episodes of Showtime's Weeds (2005) for its second run.
She plays the role of Sue Heck, the middle child, in the TV series The Middle (2009).
She also gained her first voice acting role as Star Butterfly in the Disney XD series Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2012).I love The Middle, and Sue Heck is a big part of the reason why. Forget adorable, she's hilariously awkward on every level. So optimistic, so full of hope and energy; you can't help but love her, because the entire world is against her. But she's a fighter, even though she really doesn't look like one. I predict she will amount to great things someday, and no one will notice.
Keep on fighting, Sue! Go for it Eden!
Really, that drive is what draws you in. As any 8 year old will quote for you, life is hard. Let's be honest, life often sucks. Life likes to take a sh*t on us for fun. It's enough to get us all down. The universe seems to have taken a special interest in trying to dump on this girl, she never seems to catch a break with anything. But to see her keep pushing and smiling like she knows it will all work out in the end; you really start to pray for her that it will turn out right. So many of us give up because of the sh*t life throws at us; but to see this young woman go through all this and stay smiling, if anyone deserves a break, it's her. Especially because it takes so little to make her happy.
We'll always be struggling, but Sue deserves a happy ending.- Actress
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Amber Benson was born on January 8, 1977 in Birmingham, Alabama. As a young girl, she studied singing, dancing as well as acting. While still in her teens, she was involved in productions at the local community theatre. Her family moved to Los Angeles soon afterwards in 1992 so she could pursue a career in acting.
Her first movie role was a minor part in King of the Hill (1993), where she played a good-natured, epileptic teenager and hotel resident which was set in 1930s Depression-era Indiana, which was immediately followed by another supporting part of Cheyenne, the best friend of Alicia Silverstone in The Crush (1993). A string of roles followed with her acting in three made-for-TV "Jack Reed" detective movies playing the daughter of the title detective as well as other minor and bit parts in Imaginary Crimes (1994), S.F.W. (1994) and Bye Bye Love (1995).
She's also acted in a number of independent film productions and film shorts including Take It Easy (1999), Deadtime (1999), Don's Plum (2001), Hollywood, Pennsylvania (2001). But Amber is probably best known for playing Tara, the shy, withdrawn witch and love interest of Willow for three seasons on the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) from early 2000 to 2002.
Amber has also tried her talent at writing and directing, starting in 2001 with the little-seen independent comedy-drama Chance (2002), where she played the title character. She has also wrote various stage plays as well as the scripts for other independent movie productions like The Theory of the Leisure Class (2001) and Ghosts of Albion: Legacy (2003).Not a greatly well-known actress, she is more of a personal encounter story.
Amber is mostly (if not exclusively) known for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Tara, Willow's (Alyson Hannigan's) girlfriend in the middle seasons. She was unfortunately killed off and left acting later on. A friend of mine from college is a big Buffy fan and has spent a great deal of her life being mistaken for Amber, which she loves. While in LA, she was doing a book signing for the first book in her newest series, so I decided to drop by and get my friend an autographed book to watch her head explode.
Amber.... showed up over an hour early, unannounced, to chat with people and look around the store. We talked about the weather, the East Coast, and then my friend, whom she was delighted to meet. It took an hour to get the video call up, but Amber would check in now and then between conversations to see how it was going. When I finally got it up, she and my friend had a great conversation. Well, Amber had a great conversation, my friend mostly just squeaked fangirl sounds of amazement and happiness at meeting her. Priceless.
Amber had everyone say hi to her over the video call during her reading. Which she kicked butt in, by the way. Not just robotically reading her words, she was doing voices, adding dramatic pauses, and getting into her work. One of my most fulfilling experiences in LA.
Lastly, she seems to be one of those celebrities who just doesn't photograph well. She's exceptionally pretty and nice in person, which photos never seem to be able to get across. Says something about the superficiality of photos and press, I suppose.- Katharine Isabelle was born Katharine Isobel Murray in Vancouver, British Columbia to Graeme Murray, an art director and production designer who has won two Emmy Awards for his special effects work on the television series The X-Files (1993) and Gail Murray, an amateur Vancouver writer and producer. Isabelle is the sister of journalist and former child actor Joshua Murray.
Breaking into acting in 1989 with parts in the films Cousins (1989), Cold Front (1989) and The Madonna (1989) episode of MacGyver (1985), Isabelle quickly proved herself as a skilled actress.
In 1992, she played the role of Erica Sanderson in Knight Moves (1992). American audiences took notice of her as Lindsay Clark in the teen thriller Disturbing Behavior (1998).
In 2000, Isabelle landed the lead role in the cult-favorite Ginger Snaps (2000), where her stand-out performance will leave a mark in the minds of viewers.
Continuing her busy career, she portrayed Tia in Bones (2001), Paige Fleming in Turning Paige (2001) and Tanya Francke in Insomnia (2002), opposite Al Pacino.
Throughout the 2000s, Isabelle appeared in several horror and slasher films, including Carrie (2002), Spooky House (2001), Freddy vs. Jason (2003), opposite Robert Englund as well as Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004).
She was also in varied independent films, among which Falling Angels (2003), On the Corner (2003), The Last Casino (2004), Everything's Gone Green (2006), the short film Favourite People List (2009), and Frankie & Alice (2010).
Isabelle has guest-starred in numerous popular television series throughout her career, some notable ones being The X-Files (1993), Da Vinci's Inquest (1998), Smallville (2001) and Supernatural (2005).
In 2008, she received the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her role as Norma Carlyle in the praised TV adaptation The Englishman's Boy (2008).
In 2012, Isabelle starred in the controversial horror film American Mary (2012) which earned her special mention at the Austin Fantastic Fest in addition to a Festival Trophy Award for Best Actress, a Special Award for Best Actress, a Fright Meter Award for Best Actress and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress.
Followed appearances in 13 Eerie (2013), Torment (2013) and Lawrence & Holloman (2013) for which she obtained a Leo Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture.
She also caught the eye of many with her magnetic portrayal of Margot Verger in the second and third seasons of the critically acclaimed NBC TV series Hannibal (2013).
In 2014, she reunited with American Mary (2012) creators Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska in See No Evil 2 (2014).
In 2015, Isabelle starred in the thriller film 88 (2015) and the horror film The Girl in the Photographs (2015). That year, she could also be seen in the indie film How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town (2015), alongside Jewel Staite, Lauren Lee Smith and Ennis Esmer.I really liked Ginger Snaps (if I haven't made that abundantly clear on all my other lists). In particular the two leads. I'm upset they haven't seen more success. Katharine in particular, she did a fantastic job at being so much more than just eye candy. But her next highest career point seems to be Freddy vs Jason as one of the throwaway characters, which really upsets me. Apparently part of her problem is that she refuses to do nude scenes. Wait, what? How is that a problem? That's called personal integrity. I wish more actresses had it.
Great fortune came her way with American Mary. It's strange to think two filmmakers could have an opportunity to work with an actor they've admired since they were teenagers.... when the actress is barely 30. Still, glad to see others see her greatness.
The most distinctive and addictive quality about Katharine is her delivery. She manages to find dry humor in any scene, no matter how serious, dramatic, or deeply disturbing. Even in Hannibal opposite Mads Mikkelsen's magnetic and irresistible performance she snuck in smiles, jabs, and flirts. She's the only one who can get away with it on that show. She's still quite young but already has over a hundred credits on her acting resume, which is quite an impressive feat. And she always makes me laugh, which is an inexhaustible talent. - Actress
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Sarah Silverman was most recently the host of the two-time Emmy-nominated weekly topical series, I Love You America, which streamed on Hulu and also received a Writers Guild Awards nomination.
Silverman is currently working on a musical adaptation of her 2010 memoir and New York Times Bestseller called The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee. The musical, The Bedwetter, will premiere Off Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company in April 2020.
On-stage, Silverman continues to cement her status as a force in stand-up comedy. In May 2017, she released her latest standup special A Speck of Dust on Netflix, which culminated in two Emmy Award nominations and a Grammy Award nomination. In 2013, she debuted her hour-long HBO standup special Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles, which earned her the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special." The special received an additional Primetime Emmy Awards nomination that year for "Outstanding Variety Special" in addition to a Writers Guild Awards nomination. In September 2014, Silverman released the special as an audio album through Sub Pop Records, which went on to receive a 2015 Grammy Awards nomination for "Best Comedy Album." Previously, Silverman made an impressive splash with her concert-meets-comedy film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, which garnered major attention at the Toronto Film Festival.
In the film world, Silverman was most recently seen opposite Emma Stone and Steve Carell in the critically-acclaimed film Battle of the Sexes, which was based on the true story of the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. She also starred in I Smile Back, the film adaptation of the Amy Koppelman novel. The drama premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was later released in theaters by Broad Green Pictures. Silverman received much praise for her role as "Laney Brooks," culminating in a 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role." Her additional film credits include The Book of Henry, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Ashby, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Take This Waltz, Gravy, Peep World, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, The School of Rock, There's Something About Mary, The Way of The Gun. Silverman also lent her voice as "Vanellope" in the Oscar-nominated smash hit Wreck It Ralph and Golden Globe nominated Wreck it Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Silverman was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" for her portrayal of a fictionalized version of herself in her Comedy Central series The Sarah Silverman Program. This marked Comedy Central's first ever Emmy nomination in a scripted acting category. Silverman also received a Writers Guild Award nomination for her work on the show. In 2008, Silverman won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics" for her musical collaboration with Matt Damon. Additionally, she was honored with a Webby Award for "Best Actress" for her online video "The Great Schlep," in which she persuaded young kids to encourage their grandparents in Florida to vote for President Obama prior to the 2008 Presidential Election.
Silverman has made memorable guest appearances on a number of acclaimed and notable television shows, including Monk, which earned her a 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards nomination for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series." Silverman also lends her voice to Emmy Award-winning FOX animated series Bob's Burgers. Her additional television work includes buzzed-about roles on HBO's Crashing, Masters of Sex, The Good Wife, The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld, and Mr. Show with Bob and David. Silverman has hosted a number of major awards shows, including the 2007 MTV Movie Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards.
Silverman grew up in New Hampshire and attended one year of New York University. In 1993 she joined Saturday Night Live as a writer and feature performer and has not stopped working since.
She currently lives in Los Angeles.My favorite comedy actress of all time. Just putting that out there, that is my gut feeling, and I am powerless against it. Describing her is hard, but I think Roger Ebert did it best, he described her as a young woman who acts as if she was raised properly; no trailer, smelly apartment, or anything like that. Raised like a proper young lady to know exactly what is right and what is horribly inappropriate, which is what allows her to catch us off guard so well. She knows exactly what she should and should not say, which gives her an insurmountable edge against people who think they know her better than she knows them.
Be wary, she always smiles, particularly when she's saying something shocking. She jumps from topic to topic with very little warning.
But besides her comedy, there is also a real person with real problems and real feelings. There's a scene in Wreck-it Ralph where her character gives a quick summation of her lonely life story to Ralph; she doesn't say a whole lot, but every word feels so true and emotional that you understand Sarah herself has plenty of issues like anyone else. Her whole character may be cute and even annoying at times, but her emotional moments are so powerful it really opens your eyes to the side of Sarah Silverman we never see.
Plus, have you ever met anyone more blunt? Tact is for people who can't be Sarah Silverman.- Actress
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Amanda Seyfried was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Ann (Sander), an occupational therapist, and Jack Seyfried, a pharmacist. She is of German, and some English and Scottish, ancestry. She began modeling when she was eleven, and acted in high school productions as well as taking singing lessons.
More soap work followed as she completed her schooling and had already secured a place at Fordham University when she was offered a role in the Tina Fey-penned teen comedy Mean Girls (2004). She deferred her university education to complete the film. More television work followed, raising her profile across America, while her appearances in Mamma Mia! (2008) and Red Riding Hood (2011) helped establish her international fame.More than any other actress, I have a crush on Amanda. Pretty, talented; and my god, she has the singing voice of an angel! Furthermore, I enjoy the way she can play innocent and fragile or dark and sexy.
She has a somewhat small part in Les Mis (or she isn't featured as predominantly as several of the other actors/actresses), but she fills the role of Cosette instantly. Beautiful, delicate, angelic; you want her to be protected, and you want her to find love. The person she does fall for was the biggest disappointment in Les Mis for me; I didn't think he was good enough for her. I've since come to understand that in my eyes, NO ONE is good enough for her.- Actress
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Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an actress known for her versatile work in a variety of film and television projects. Possibly most known for her role as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), she has also starred in critically acclaimed independent films such as Smashed (2012), for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, as well as genre fare like Final Destination 3 (2006) and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (2007).
Winstead was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina but largely raised in Sandy, Utah, which is where she discovered a love for the performing arts. She grew up training to be a ballerina and attended the Joffrey Ballet School training program at the age of 12. It was also around this time that she began to pursue a career in acting and soon started working steadily in television and film.
Winstead is also a recording artist and performs under the name "Got a Girl" alongside producer Dan the Automotor.I've liked her for a while, although her acting chops could be hit or miss. First noticed her in Live Free or Die Hard; she was far from your typical little hostage. Girl had more bite than anyone in that movie. Enjoyed her (and everyone else) in Scott Pilgrim. What really won her over for me was The Thing prequel. She's fantastic in it, and I absolutely recommend it.
These days, she's taking on some more serious roles. I hoped Smashed could help put her more on the map for people, but it seems she's still at work finding recognition. Honestly though, that seems to be the place where artists find their best performances, so yay!- Actress
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Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris, France, to British parents, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both lawyers. She moved to Oxfordshire when she was five, where she attended the Dragon School. From the age of six, Emma knew that she wanted to be an actress and, for a number of years, she trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing and acting. By the age of ten, she had performed and taken the lead in various Stagecoach productions and school plays.
In 1999, casting began for Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (2001), the film adaptation of British author J.K. Rowling's bestselling novel. Casting agents found Emma through her Oxford theatre teacher. After eight consistent auditions, producer David Heyman told Emma and fellow applicants, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, that they had been cast for the roles of the three leads, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. The release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) was Emma's cinematic screen debut. The film broke records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings and was the highest-grossing film of 2001. Critics praised the film and the performances of the three leading young actors. The highly distributed British newspaper, 'The Daily Telegraph', called her performance "admirable". Later, Emma was nominated for five awards for her performance in the film, winning the Young Artist Award for Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film.
After the release of the first film of the highly successful franchise, Emma became one of the most well-known actresses in the world. She continued to play the role of Hermione Granger for nearly ten years, in all of the following Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Emma acquired two Critics' Choice Award nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her work in Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The completion of the seventh and eight movies saw Emma receive nominations in 2011 for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award, and for Best Actress at the Jameson Empire Awards. The Harry Potter franchise won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in February 2011.
2011 saw Emma in Simon Curtis's My Week with Marilyn (2011), alongside a stellar cast of Oscar nominees including Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, in addition to Eddie Redmayne, Dame Judi Dench, Dougray Scott, Zoe Wanamaker, Toby Jones and Dominic Cooper. Chronicling a week in Marilyn Monroe's life, the film featured Emma in the supporting role of Lucy, a costume assistant to Colin Clark (Redmayne). The film was released by The Weinstein Company and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. In 2012 Emma was seen in Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of his coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), starring opposite Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller. This independent drama centered around Charlie (Lerman), an introverted freshman who is taken under the wings of two seniors (Watson and Miller) who welcome him to the real world. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and received rave reviews. The film won the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie and Emma also picked up the People's Choice Award for Favourite Dramatic Movie Actress. Emma was awarded a second time for this role with the Best Supporting Actress Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards where the film also won the Best Ensemble Performance Award.
In summer 2013, Emma starred in Sofia Coppola's American satirical black comedy crime film, The Bling Ring (2013), opposite Katie Chang and Israel Broussard. The film took inspiration from real events and followed a group of teenagers who, obsessed with fashion and fame, burgled the homes of celebrities in Los Angeles. The film opened the Un Certain Regard section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Emma also appeared in a cameo role as herself in Seth Rogen's apocalypse comedy This Is The End (2013). The film tells the story about what happens to some of Hollywood's best loved celebrities when the apocalypse strikes during a party at James Franco's house.
In 2014, Emma was seen in Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014), opposite Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. The film told the epic, biblical tale of Noah and the ark. Emma plays the role of Ila, a young woman who develops a close relationship with Noah's son, Shem (Booth). Noah made an outstanding $300m since its release in March. In 2015, Emma starred in Regression (2015), written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar and Occultum Luciferus. Also headlined by Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke, and set in Minnesota in 1990, Regression tells the story of Detective Bruce Kenner (Hawke), who investigates the case of young Angela, played by Emma, who accuses her father of sexual abuse.
In 2012, Emma was honored with the Calvin Klein Emerging Star Award at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards. In 2013, Emma was awarded the Trailblazer Award at the MTV Movie Awards in April and was honored with the GQ Woman of the Year Award at the GQ Awards in September. Further to her acting career, Emma is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Emma graduated from Brown University in May 2014.
In 2017, Emma starred in the live-action Disney fantasy Beauty and the Beast (2017), one of the biggest movies of all time in the U.S., and the dramatic thriller The Circle (2017).Yes, I'm a big Harry Potter fan. That should be enough description for what initially got me interested in her; here's a little more. Perks of Being a Wallflower, that movie you don't need to describe to people. When you've seen it, you know what I mean when I think about her in it. Relatable and unattainable like a true crush.
Then there's her words and actions on behalf of the unheard or neglected. She's one of those rare people who is as magical on the screen as off the screen. Smart and sincere, and talented to boot.- Actress
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Actress and activist Olivia Wilde is a modern day renaissance woman, starring in many acclaimed film productions, while simultaneously giving back to the community.
She was born on March 10, 1984 in New York City. Her parents are Leslie Cockburn (née Leslie Corkill Redlich) and Andrew Cockburn. Her mother is American-born and her father was born in London, England to an upper-class British family; he also later became a citizen of Ireland. Wilde is the middle child, having an older sister, Chloe Cockburn, and, a younger brother, Charlie Cockburn. She is of English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Manx descent.
She was raised in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and spent her summers in Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland. She attended the private Georgetown Day School, as well as, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 2002. She was accepted to Bard College, another highly selective private school in Duchess County, New York but deferred her enrollment three times in order to pursue an acting career. She later studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland.
Wilde is known for her television roles as Alex Kelly in The O.C. (2003) from 2004-2005 and Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley in the medical-drama television series, House (2004) when she joined the cast in 2007 and appeared on the show until the series end in 2012.
Wilde is a board member of the organization "Artists for Peace and Justice," which supports communities in Haiti through programs in education, health care, and dignity through the performing arts. She has served as executive producer on several documentary short films, including, Sun City Picture House (2010), which is about a community in Haiti that rallies to build a movie theater after the disastrous 2010 earthquake and Baseball in the Time of Cholera (2012), which explored the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
Wilde is known for her roles in Year One (2009), Tron: Legacy (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), In Time (2011), People Like Us (2012), Her (2013), Rush (2013), Drinking Buddies (2013), The Longest Week (2014), Love the Coopers (2015), and Meadowland (2015).
Since 2011, Wilde had been in a relationship with Jason Sudeikis. They have two children together, Otis Alexander Sudeikis (born April 20, 2014) and Daisy Josephine Sudeikis (born October 11, 2016). In November 2020, they announced that they had ended their relationship.
Wilde made her Broadway debut in the play "1984" at the Hudson Theatre in New York City in 2017. She has recently starred in Life Itself (2018) and A Vigilante (2018).A big part of the reason I got into House, her and Hugh Laurie. Really, it was how smart she seemed and how well she could see through to the heart of things that I admired. That, and the first time you see her, you have to ask yourself "who was THAT?". She is addicting and always enjoyable. I look forward to seeing her in the foreseeable future.
Olivia's been keeping very busy these days. I try and see each of her movies, no matter how small a part she has in it. I find her that much fun to watch. I think she has a great career ahead of her.
Something about those eyes....- Actress
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Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an American-born artist (from Cincinnati, Ohio), who also acts as Natalie's agent. Her parents are both of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Natalie's family left Israel for Washington, D.C., when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family finally settled in New York, where she still lives to this day. She graduated with honors, and her academic achievements allowed her to attend Harvard University. She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but she decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Léon: The Professional (1994) (aka "Léon"). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).
It was not until 1999 that Natalie received worldwide fame as Queen Amidala in the highly anticipated US$431 million-grossing prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She then she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas, Anywhere But Here (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000), followed by Closer (2004), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She reprised her role as Padme Amidala in the last two episodes of the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). She received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Black Swan (2010).
She received a second nomination for Best Actress, for playing Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie (2016).Loved her first role in Leon: The Professional, and things went up from there. V for Vendetta and Black Swan are my favorites with her. Black Swan in particular really brought out a lot from her. She played so fragile and then so terrifyingly beautiful, and then back again.
She can reach down and find a darkness one wouldn't suspect her of having. Find it and unleash it in a ferocious display.- Actress
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Robin Gayle Wright was born in Dallas, Texas, to Gayle (Gaston), a national director at Mary Kay, and Freddie Wright, a pharmaceutical executive. She grew up in San Diego, California. She started her professional career as a model in 1980 at age 14, and worked both in Paris and Japan. After finishing high school she decided to become an actress. She got a role on the soap opera Santa Barbara (1984), for which she was nominated three times for a Daytime Emmy. During the first season of the show, she fell in love with fellow cast member Dane Witherspoon, whom she married in 1986. Meanwhile, she starred in The Princess Bride (1987), playing the title role. After leaving the cast of Santa Barbara, she got the starring role in Denial (1990) alongside Jason Patric. In 1990, she was in State of Grace (1990), where she met actor Sean Penn, by whom she had a daughter, Dylan Frances, and a son, Hopper Jack. After taking some time off, Robin was back to Hollywood with one the best roles of her career: She played Tara in The Playboys (1992). She was extremely stunning and brilliant. Then, she acted in Toys (1992) with Robin Williams, and she gave a funny performance. In 1994, Wright was in the blockbuster hit Forrest Gump (1994), with Tom Hanks. For her performance as Jenny, she got a nomination for a Golden Globe Award. She got a small role in The Crossing Guard (1995), which starred Jack Nicholson. After turning down 14 roles, she played the title role of MGM/UA's Moll Flanders (1996), directed by Pen Densham, and co-starring Morgan Freeman and Stockard Channing. She then starred in Erin Dignam's Loved (1997), with William Hurt.The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump. Princess Buttercup and Jenny Curan. Two characters absolutely worlds apart from anything we'd seen before, two unbelievable performances, two characters I will never forget. Either of them would put her on my list. Together, she's one of my favorite actresses of all time.- Actress
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Alyson Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. to Emilie (Posner), a real estate agent, and Al Hannigan, a truck driver. She began her acting career in Atlanta at the young age of 4 in commercials sponsoring such companies as McDonald's, Six Flags, and Oreos. She is a seasoned television actress, guest starring in Picket Fences (1992), Roseanne (1988), Touched by an Angel (1994) and the The Torkelsons (1991) before starring in her most notorious roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) as "Willow Rosenberg" and How I Met Your Mother (2005) as "Lily Aldrin."I'm a big HIMYM fan and she's my favorite part of American Pie. Adorable and sweet, but I love when she goes psychotic! I could watch HIMYM for just her and Jason Segel. And Neil Patrick Harris, of course.
Now that I'm finally watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all my points are even more supported. She isn't an Oscar-rank actress, she's not someone you turn to when you want a gripping performance. She's just a veritable ray of sunshine and fun energy in every scene she's in. She brings life to the screen. There's a lot of times when we need that more than another white-knuckle Oscar drama.- Actress
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Anna Kendrick was born in Portland, Maine, to Janice (Cooke), an accountant, and William Kendrick, a teacher. She has an older brother, Michael Cooke Kendrick, who has also acted. She is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent.
For her role as "Dinah" in "High Society" on Broadway, Anna Kendrick was nominated for a Tony Award (second youngest ever), a Drama Desk Award, and a Fany Award (best actress featured in a musical). Her spectacular performance landed her the Drama League and Theatre World Award.
She was a lead performer with Cabaret's Kit Kat Club at "Carnegie Hall Live" in My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies (1999) (TV). She also had the privilege of working with director Scott Ellis and choreographer Susan Stroman at the New York City Opera House with Jeremy Irons amongst many more celebrity status actors, playing the role of "Fredrika" in "A Little Night Music".
Anna work-shopped "Jane Eyre" & "The Little Princess" for Broadway and starred in the feature film Camp (2003) with director Todd Graff.Saw her in Up in the Air with my Mum. I was dragged along to go see it, didn't really know what it was about. I ended up liking it quite a lot. She was my favorite character. New, fresh from school, trying to put a number to everything, naive but well-meaning. She was also hilarious for her few scenes in Scott Pilgrim. Looking forward to more from her, she seems like an actress with a lot of range and ability.
She played a small but effective part in End of Watch. At first I worried her part was too small for her to really make an impact in a movie so driven and engaging (mostly because of its two leads), but the scene with her playing with Brian's camera after they been dating shortly slides her into the world of the film like a perfect piece of the puzzle. She may not be important to the plot, but we like her, and we feel like she is the right person for Brian. Any one of us would want a girl like this on our arm.
She seems like someone who would be sisters with Emma Watson (minus the accent). I'd give my right arm to see a movie with the two of them playing sisters.- Actress
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Mayim Bialik grew up in San Diego and got her first acting job (Pumpkinhead (1988)) when she was just 12 years old. A number of TV roles followed until in 1990 she was cast in Blossom (1990), the role which made her famous.
By 1993, while Blossom was still airing, she had already won a deferred place at Harvard and was also accepted by Yale but chose in the end to attend UCLA. She was awarded her Bachelor's degree in 2000 and began reading for a PhD in Neuroscience (studying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome) which she eventually completed in 2007.
She continued working throughout her studies and was a regular on US TV screens, becoming a Prime Time face again in 2010 when she began her regular appearances as "Sheldon's friend who is not his girlfriend" in the hit series The Big Bang Theory (2007).I never watched Blossom.
I only met her on the Season 3 finale of the Big Bang Theory, and I wanted to hate her so much. She was supposed to be Sheldon's girlfriend, an irrational concept. But as Season 4 went on, she grew to become one of my favorite characters. In the years since then, she's become an instrumental piece of the show, bridging the gap between the nerd world of the boys and reality. One foot in both, but belonging completely in neither.
She is a hilarious middle ground between crazy people like Sheldon and well... the rest of the world. Her "besty" relationship with Penny is one of my favorite additions to the show. What makes her the most interesting character in the show currently is the fact that she is the character who is trying to change. The other characters rarely deviate from certain paths and mindsets, but Amy is on a constant journey to explore uncharted territory, and with a character like hers, there is no lack of funny situations to put her in.- Actress
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Multi-talented, multi-award-winning actress Kathleen (Doyle) Bates was born on June 28, 1948, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the youngest of three girls born to Bertye Kathleen (Talbot), a homemaker, and Langdon Doyle Bates, a mechanical engineer. Her grandfather was author Finis L. Bates. Kathy has English, as well as Irish, Scottish, and German, ancestry, and one of her ancestors, an Irish emigrant to New Orleans, once served as President Andrew Jackson's doctor.
Kathy discovered acting appearing in high school plays and studied drama at Southern Methodist University, graduating in 1969. With her mind firmly set, she moved to New York City in 1970 and paid her dues by working everything from a cash register to taking lunch orders. Things started moving quickly up the ladder after giving a tour-de-force performance alongside Christopher Walken at Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre in Lanford Wilson's world premiere of "Lemon Sky" in 1970, but she also had a foreshadowing of the heartbreak to come after the successful show relocated to New York's off-Broadway Playhouse Theatre without her and Walken wound up winning a Drama Desk award.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, Kathy was treading the boards frequently as a rising young actress of the New York and regional theater scene. She appeared in "Casserole" and "A Quality of Mercy" (both 1975) before earning exceptional reviews for her role of Joanne in "Vanities". She took her first Broadway curtain call in 1980's "Goodbye Fidel," which lasted only six performances. She then went directly into replacement mode when she joined the cast of the already-established and highly successful "Fifth of July" in 1981.
Kathy made a false start in films with Taking Off (1971), in which she was billed as "Bobo Bates". She didn't film again until Straight Time (1978), starring Dustin Hoffman, and that part was not substantial enough to cause a stir. Things turned hopeful, however, when Kathy and the rest of the female ensemble were given the chance to play their respective Broadway parts in the film version of Robert Altman's Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). It was a juicy role for Kathy and film audiences finally started noticing the now 34-year-old.
Still and all, it was the New York stage that continued to earn Kathy awards and acclaim. She was pure textbook to any actor studying how to disappear into a role. Her characters ranged from free and life-affirming to downright pitiable. Despite winning a Tony Award nomination and Outer Critic's Circle Award for her stark, touchingly sad portrait of a suicidal daughter in 1983's "'night, Mother" and the Obie and Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for her powerhouse job as a romantic misfit in "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune," Kathy had no box-office pull, however, and was never a strong consideration when the roles transferred to the screen. Her award-winning stage went to established film stars. First Sissy Spacek took over her potent role as the suicidal Jessie Cates in 'night, Mother (1986), then Michelle Pfeiffer seized the moment to play her dumpy lover character in Frankie and Johnny (1991). It would take Oscar glory to finally rectify the injustice.
It was Kathy's fanatical turn as the drab, chunky, porcine-looking psychopath Annie Wilkes, who kidnaps her favorite author (James Caan) and subjects him to a series of horrific tortures, that finally turned the tide for her in Hollywood. With the 1990 shocker Misery (1990), based on the popular Stephen King novel, Bates and Caan were box office magic. Moreover, Kathy captured the "Best Actress" Oscar and Golden Globe award, a first in that genre (horror) for that category. To add to her happiness she married Tony Campisi, also an actor, in 1991.
Quality film scripts now started coming her way and the 1990s proved to be a rich and rewarding time for her. First, she and another older "overnight" film star, fellow Oscar winner Jessica Tandy, starred together in the modern portion of the beautifully nuanced, flashback period piece Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). She then outdid herself as the detached and depressed housekeeper accused of murdering her abusive husband (David Strathairn) in Dolores Claiborne (1995). Surprisingly, she was left out of the Oscar race for these two excellent performances. Not so, however, for her flashy political advisor Libby Holden in the movie Primary Colors (1998), receiving praise and a "Best Supporting Actress" nomination.
Kathy has continued to work prolifically on TV as a 14-time Emmy winner or nominee thus far. She has also taken to directing a couple of TV-movies on the sly. As most actors, she has been in hit and miss TV shows. On the hit side, she has earned a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Jay Leno's manager playing tough politics in The Late Shift (1996) and played to the hilt the cruel-minded orphanage operator, Miss Hannigan, in Annie (1999) for which she also earned an Emmy nom. She has done some eye-catching, offbeat turns on regular series such as Six Feet Under (2001) (for which she also earned a DGA award for helming an episode), The Office (2005), Harry's Law (2011) and especially American Horror Story (2011) for which she won an Emmy as Ethel Darling. She also won an Emmy for a guest episode on the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003).
Interesting millennium filming have included a Catholic school's Mother Superior in the comic drama Bruno (2000); Jesse James' mother in American Outlaws (2001); a quirky, liberal mom in About Schmidt (2002) for which she earned another "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar nomination; a brief but potent turn as Gertrude Stein in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011); Queen Victoria in the adventurous remake of Around the World in 80 Days (2004); wacky parent types in the comedies Failure to Launch (2006) and Relative Strangers (2006); Mother Claus in the seasonal farce Fred Claus (2007); an over-gushy foster mother in the dramedy The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015); and a wrenching performance as the mother of a suspected terrorist in Richard Jewell (2019) for which she earned her third "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar nomination.
Divorced from husband Campisi since 1997, Kathy has been the Executive Committee Chair of the Actors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors.Misery is my favorite Stephen King novel, and Rob Reiner's Misery is one of my favorite Stephen King movies. Kathy Bates is the main reason. She's so kind and thoughtful and motherly, but once you see how unstable she really is, those sweet moments start to freak you out, because you never know when she'll have a radical change. You can see precursors to some of Fletcher's terrifying demeanor in Whiplash.
Even outside of Misery, she's always a fantastic addition to any movie (except North, yeah). She plays characters that never disappear into the background, no matter how small they may be. She's has a commanding screen presence and funny dry wit. You gotta admire the woman who won't be ignored or pushed to the side.- Actress
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Melissa McCarthy was born in Plainfield, Illinois, to Sandra and Michael McCarthy, and was raised on her family's corn and soybean farm. She began her performing career as a stand-up comedian in New York where she appeared at the famous clubs, Stand Up New York and The Improv. She worked on her acting skills at The Actors Studio and appeared in many stage productions in the city before moving to Los Angeles in the late-1990s. She made a number of TV and movie appearances before making her big breakthrough as Sookie in Gilmore Girls (2000). A steady stream of comedy performances followed, leading to her starring role in the sitcom Mike & Molly (2010).
In the 2010s, McCarthy became known for her starring roles in the films Bridesmaids (2011), The Heat (2013), St. Vincent (2014), Spy (2015), Ghostbusters (2016), and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018).I actually saw Bridesmaids really late. I adore Mike & Molly. I watched the premier because it seemed like a nice show. It was, and I loved the characters. I loved the feeling of honesty it had, these were real people in a real relationship.
When I saw Melissa delivering the Emmy nominations on TV, I was as surprised as anyone (including Melissa) when her name was called. I rooted for her during the Emmys, but thought she would have a hard time getting any sort of recognition amongst some of the women up for the award, It was only the first season of the show, and it wasn't exactly a groundbreaking program. When she won, I screamed. I can't believe our little Molly beat out Tina Fey and Amy Poehler!
I cried during a comedy scene between her and Sandra Bullock in The Heat; it was that funny. Then there was her SNL 40th anniversary appearance, returning the late Chris Farley to life. Movies like Identity Thief, Tammy, and Spy have proven Melissa is every bit as talented as a comedy A-lister (in actuality she's significantly more talented than most A-list comedy actors). It's so hard to believe, but she may be the funniest woman on the planet even if her movies don't do as well. Her timing is great, original material fast & furiously raucous, and she is a master of comedy physicality like hasn't been seen since Chris Farley. I friggin' love this lady!- Actress
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Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin is one of the most sought-after actors of her generation. Her unique and charismatic talents have contributed to her versatile roles in both comedy and drama.
Recently, Breslin headlined the first season of the horror-comedy series, Scream Queens (2015), opposite Emma Roberts, Lea Michele and Jamie Lee Curtis, and starred in the coveted role of "Baby" in ABC/Lionsgate's recreation of the pop-culture classic, Dirty Dancing (2017).
Abigail Kathleen Breslin was born in New York City, New York, to Kim and Michael Breslin, a telecommunications expert and consultant. She has two sibling, Ryan Breslin and Spencer Breslin, who is also an actor. She is of Irish, Austrian Jewish, and English descent.
Abigail has acted since she was a small child. She is widely recognized for her role in the critically-acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the irreverent, antic comedy which created a sensation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Breslin played the role of "Olive", an ambitious young girl who is obsessed with winning a beauty pageant. For her performance, she received a Best Actress Award from the Tokyo International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award, SAG and BAFTA Best Supporting Actress awards. In addition, she was honored as ShoWest's "Female Star of Tomorrow" in 2008, and made her Broadway debut in 2010 in "The Miracle Worker".
Her many credits include Ender's Game (2013), Haunter (2013), The Call (2013), Rango (2011), Janie Jones (2010), Zombieland (2009), My Sister's Keeper (2009), New Year's Eve (2011), Raising Helen (2004), The Ultimate Gift (2006), The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), No Reservations (2007), Definitely, Maybe (2008), Nim's Island (2008), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) and M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film, Signs (2002), opposite Mel Gibson.
Breslin was seen in The Weinstein Company film, August: Osage County (2013), opposite Meryl Streep, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney and Juliette Lewis. She starred in the coveted role of "Jean Fordham", the daughter of Julia Roberts' and Ewan McGregor's characters.
She starred in the Lionsgate film, Maggie (2015), opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film follows a teenage girl (Breslin) from a small town in the Midwest, who becomes infected by a disease that slowly turns her into a zombie. The film premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was released on May 8, 2015.
In October of 2015, Harper Collins published Breslin's first book, "This May Sound Crazy". The book is based on her popular Tumblr "Mixtapes & Winter Coats", in which she writes honest, funny and emotional observations on her daily life as a young adult.#3 on my personal list of great child actors. I loved her in Signs and Little Miss Sunshine. It was also fun watching her put Woody Harrelson in tears in Zombieland. Her must-see movie is Maggie, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They have scenes that feel so heartfelt and sincere, you completely forget that Arnold is a 60-something Austrian man pretending to be the father to a 16-year old American girl. They just feel like a father and daughter.- Actress
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Isabelle Fuhrman is a critically acclaimed actress who can next be seen in Kevin Costner's HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA, opposite Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Danny Houston, Giovanni Ribisi and Luke Wilson.
In 2021, Fuhrman starred as Alex Dall in Lauren Hadaway's directorial debut, THE NOVICE. Her performance garnered awards buzz, with critics calling Fuhrman's turn "a Daniel Day-Lewis transformation" and "the year's best performance". For THE NOVICE, she won the Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Both viewers and critics applauded Fuhrman for her dedication to the part, calling it "riveting," "explosive," "decisive," "defining," "searing," "human" and "honest."
In 2022, Fuhrman returned to her iconic role as 'Esther' in ORPHAN: FIRST KILL and made cinema history for reprising a role she played as a child, 13 years after the original film's release. The prequel received high marks from film critics, with Fuhrman's performance again being lauded.
Fuhrman started her impressive acting career at the young age of seven in Atlanta, GA and made her screen debut in the drama HOUNDDOG opposite Dakota Fanning. She was only ten when she was cast as the star of the 2009 cult horror classic ORPHAN, after an exhaustive nationwide search of young actresses to portray the lead in the Warner Bros. collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way and Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment. Her breakout performance was hailed as "awards-worthy," "mind-blowing," and "one of the most momentous examples of acting from a child performer in years." Holding her own against Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard in the film, Fuhrman displayed impressive range and this elevated her to the forefront of her craft. Never to shy away from meaty roles, Fuhrman signed onto the blockbuster franchise THE HUNGER GAMES at just 14, she joined the cast of Showtime's critically acclaimed series, MASTERS OF SEX, playing Virginia's (Lizzy Caplan's) whip-smart sparring partner of a daughter, she voiced award-winning Studio Ghibli's FROM UP ON POPPY HILL, and even led an an-female cast in Erica Schmidt's off-Broadway adaptation of MAC BETH. All while balancing her studies at Stanford University's EPGY OHS and two intensive courses at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Fuhrman's upcoming releases include Julia Stiles' directorial debut WISH YOU WERE alongside Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammar, Andy Tennant's UNIT 234, opposite Don Johnson, LITTLEMOUTH, opposite Dennis Quaid and Josh Hutcherson, and Justine Batreman's-directed FACE.
In addition to her work in front of the screen, Fuhrman has her own production company, WHAT IF? Productions, which she started in 2019 and has been writing and developing her own projects.
Fuhrman currently resides in Los Angeles and is an ultra marathon runner, triathlete, skilled guitar player, western-horseback rider, singer, gourmet cook and certified holistic birth doula.Admittedly, I'm mostly a fan of Orphan. Truth be told, I don't need anything else. She frikin' terrified me in Orphan. She made Damien and Regan look like Annie.
She also brings that incredible level of aggression and evil to The Hunger Games, even though we don't see too much of her. I still twitch whenever I see her in movies (or interviews).
Isabelle is my favorite actor/actress under 20. I was disappointed to hear the remake for Suspiria with her was cancelled, but it does kinda make sense that it wouldn't be about the acting or dialogue as much as just visuals. I'm trying eagerly to find another project to follow her in. Maybe I'll get into Masters of Sex, word around town is that it's really good, and both Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan have stood out to me.- Actress
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Moretz is best known for her work in the sci-fi thriller series The Peripheral, created by Scott B. Smith; the Mattson Tomlin-directed sci-fi thriller Mother/Android; Neil Jordan's thriller Greta; Roseanne Liang's Shadow in the Cloud, which claimed the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival in 2020; The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which won both critical acclaim and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2018; Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria, which went on to claim the Independent Spirit Awards' Robert Altman Award after world premiering in Venice; MGM's The Amityville Horror; Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer; the Kick-Ass franchise; Matt Reeves' English-language remake of Let Me In; Martin Scorsese's Oscar winner Hugo; Warner Bros' If I Stay and Dark Shadows; Kimberly Peirce's remake of the Stephen King classic Carrie; and Sony's The Equalizer with Denzel Washington. She also exec produced the Snapchat Discover series Coming Out, which premiered in 2021.I enjoyed her in Let Me In long before I saw Kick Ass. I still prefer it. I look forward to a whole lot of great performances by her. She can be sweet, caring, bloodthirsty, and psychotic; distinctively. She is definitely making a name for herself as one of the most prominent child actors right now. She also did a fantastic job in Hugo. I might see Dark Shadows just to watch her with Johnny Depp.
I worry Hollywood may be asking too much of her and trying to make her too big of a star too fast. Let the kid grow up a little!
It's funny, but I don't think she was meant to be a typical Hollywood leading lady. Something about her feels a bit more.... average, than a lot of other child stars. She doesn't seem like a sexualized Barbie Doll, more like a neighborhood kid with attitude. Even with all her exposure, she hasn't lost her charm yet. I hold firm that the kid deserves some time to grow up and enjoy her childhood.- Actress
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Mary Elle Fanning was born on the 9th of April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven J. Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel Islander descent.
Elle's ascent into stardom began when she was almost three years old, when she played the younger version of her sister, Dakota Fanning's, character Lucy in the drama film I Am Sam (2001). She then played younger Dakota again in Taken (2002) as Allie, age 3. But her first big independent movie without her sister was in 2003's Daddy Day Care (2003) as Jamie. She then had two guest appearances on Judging Amy (1999) and CSI: Miami (2002).
Elle was becoming more successful and she got another role, in 2004's The Door in the Floor (2004) with Kim Basinger. Her career kept improving, as she had two movies in 2005, Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) and I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006).
She has since starred in a number of prominent films, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Super 8 (2011), We Bought a Zoo (2011), and Maleficent (2014).Saw her on House, then in Super 8. Super 8 was what really won me over. In particular the little scene at the train station where they have her rehearse her lines. Holy crap.
I saw her most recently in We Bought a Zoo. I was happily surprised at first (hadn't looked into the movie enough to know she was in it), but then a little disappointed when I noticed that 90% of her screen time is her smiling and giggling. She can do so much more.
A day is going to come when the world will realize she's utterly fascinating on the screen. The day will come!- Actress
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Anne was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. She got the role of Iphigenia in "The Iphigenia Cycle" in Chicago while still in theater school at Northwestern University. She was a resident artist at The Court Theatre in Chicago. The production moved off-Broadway to New York City, where she won the Joseph E. Calloway award for her performance, and was profiled in American Theater Magazine as one of ten young theater artists to watch. She then appeared on Broadway in Wrong Mountain, in productions in several regional theaters, and won the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for outstanding performance in The Glass Menagerie.
Anne also worked in the United Kingdom as Clare in the BAFTA-nominated television series The Book Group (2002).First saw her on HIMYM when she collected sock monkeys and beat Ted's ass into the ground after he broke up with her. But what really made me her fan was her performance as Amber "Cutthroat B*tch" Volakis on House. She was aggressive, manipulative, willing to go to any means to win, and my god was it funny watching her verbally spar with House. I hope I get to see more of her in other things. Imdb lists her as an actress from White Chicks; I pray to God she gets some better movies in the future.
Her roles continue to be sparse, but her sharp wit and hard-hitting demeanor haven't lost any of their bite. It's worth working a little to find a good movie with her in it.- Actress
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Californian Charlyne Yi has many strings to their bow as an actor, comedian, writer, musician and artist. They grew up in the Inland Empire in California. After attending the University of California, Riverside, they left and began a career as a comedian. Their innovative routine includes jokes, music, magic and crowd participation.
They made their movie debut with a supporting turn in the hit Knocked Up (2007). In 2009, they wrote, produced and starred in Paper Heart (2009), alongside Michael Cera. In 2011, they landed the role of Dr. Chi Park in the popular series "House". In 2015 they made their first appearance in "Steven Universe" as Ruby, and since then has made several more throughout the show.
Yi also has a musical career. They performed in a band called 'The Glass Beef' with Paul Rust, and now performs as a SOLO artist and in the band 'Sacred Destinies'. They also sings in the hit cartoon "Steven Universe".Only seen her in a few episodes of House, but I like her already. She isn't quite as unrealistic as some of the more pretty-face doctors House has worked with (no offense to any of them), and she doesn't seem aggressive enough to be able to keep up with House. I believe that is her charm. She has enough self-confidence that she will voice her opinion when no one else would listen, even if she knows people won't listen. But she has an excellent head on her shoulders, which I believe House is starting to notice as well. Also, part of me hopes that she will punch House at some point.
She seems a bit more focused on behind the camera work than on-camera work, but she's wonderfully silly when she wants to be.- Actress
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Anna Paquin is the first millennial to have received an Academy Award nomination for acting, and the first to win.
She was born on July 24, 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Mary (Brophy), an English teacher from Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a Canadian phys-ed teacher. Anna moved to her mother's native country when she was four years old. Her first acting job ever was at age nine in the movie The Piano (1993), which was shot in New Zealand. At age 16, she relocated to Los Angeles where she completed her last two years of high school (graduating in 2000). She then moved to New York where she attended Columbia University for one year. Between 2001 and 2004, she worked almost exclusively on stage in both New York and London. In 2007, Anna was cast in HBO's True Blood (2008), which concluded shooting its seventh and final season in 2014.I'm a fan of her work as Rogue in X-Men, but my favorite moment of hers was in Trick 'R Treat. I won't give it away, but let's just say it's wild. I don't watch True Blood, although I'm considering watching The Piano. She seems to fall perfectly into both critics' and moviegoers' circles seamlessly, an impressive task. I'm still trying to figure out how she does it.
I just like her. She does a good job, she adds energy to all her parts without ever playing things over-the-top, she's an all-around effective actress in any role or genre. She flows into a film without disturbing the atmosphere around her, like a great actor should.- Actress
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Helena Bonham Carter is an actress of great versatility, one of the UK's finest and most successful.
Bonham Carter was born May 26, 1966 in Golders Green, London, England, the youngest of three children of Elena (née Propper de Callejón), a psychotherapist, and Raymond Bonham Carter, a merchant banker. Through her father, she is the great-granddaughter of former Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith, and her blue-blooded family tree also contains Barons and Baronesses, diplomats, and a director, Bonham Carter's great-uncle Anthony Asquith, who made Pygmalion (1938) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), among others. Cousin Crispin Bonham-Carter is also an actor. Her maternal grandfather, Eduardo Propper de Callejón, was a Spanish diplomat who was awarded the honorific Righteous Among the Nations, by Israel, for helping save Jews during World War II (Eduardo's own father was a Czech Jew). Helena's maternal grandmother, Hélène Fould-Springer, was from an upper-class Jewish family from France, Austria, and Germany, and later converted to her husband's Catholic faith.
Bonham Carter experienced family dramas during her childhood, including her father's stroke - which left him wheelchair-bound. She attended South Hampstead High School and Westminster School in London, and subsequently devoted herself to an acting career. That trajectory actually began in 1979 when, at age thirteen, she entered a national poetry writing competition and used her second place winnings to place her photo in the casting directory "Spotlight." She soon had her first agent and her first acting job, in a commercial, at age sixteen. She then landed a role in the made-for-TV movie A Pattern of Roses (1983), which subsequently led to her casting in the Merchant Ivory films A Room with a View (1985), director James Ivory's tasteful adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, and Lady Jane (1986), giving a strong performance as the uncrowned Queen of England. She had roles in three other productions under the Merchant-Ivory banner (director Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala): an uncredited appearance in Maurice (1987), and large roles in Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991) and Howards End (1992).
Often referred to as the "corset queen" or "English rose" because of her early work, Bonham Carter continued to surprise audiences with magnificent performances in a variety of roles from her more traditional corset-clad character in The Wings of the Dove (1997) and Shakespearian damsels to the dark and neurotic anti-heroines of Fight Club (1999). Her acclaimed performance in The Wings of the Dove (1997) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination, a BAFTA Best Actress nomination, and a SAG Awards Best Actress nomination. It also won her a Best Actress Award from the National Board of Review, the Los Angeles Film Critics, the Boston Society Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Texas Society of Film Critics, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.
In the late 1990s, Bonham Carter embarked on the next phase of her career, moving from capable actress to compelling star. Audiences and critics had long been enchanted by her delicate beauty, evocative of another time and place. Her late '90s and early and mid 2000s roles included Mick Jackson's Live from Baghdad (2002), alongside Michael Keaton, receiving a nomination for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe; Paul Greengrass' The Theory of Flight (1998), in which she played a victim of motor neurone disease; Trevor Nunn's Twelfth Night (1996), in which she played Olivia; opposite Woody Allen in his Mighty Aphrodite (1995); Mort Ransen's Margaret's Museum (1995); Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein (1994); and Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990).
Other notable credits include her appearance with Steve Martin in Novocaine (2001), Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, in which she played an ape, Thaddeus O'Sullivan's The Heart of Me (2002), opposite Paul Bettany, and Big Fish (2003), her second effort with Tim Burton, in which she appeared as a witch.
In between her films, Helena has managed a few television appearances, which include her portrayal of Jacqui Jackson in Magnificent 7 (2005), the tale of a mother struggling to raise seven children - three daughters and four autistic boys; as Anne Boleyn in the two-parter biopic of Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone; and as Morgan Le Fey, alongside Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson, in Merlin. Earlier television appearances include Michael Mann's Miami Vice (1984) as Don Johnson's junkie fiancée, and as a stripper who wins Rik Mayall's heart in Dancing Queen (1993). Helena has also appeared on stage, in productions of Trelawney of the Wells, The Barber of Seville, House of Bernarda Alba, The Chalk Garden, and Woman in White.
Bonham Carter was nominated for a Golden Globe for the fifth time for her role in partner Tim Burton's film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), for which Burton and co-star Johnny Depp were also nominated. For the role, she was awarded Best Actress at the Evening Standard British Film Awards 2008. Other 2000s work includes playing Mrs Bucket in Tim Burton's massive hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), providing the voices for the aristocratic Lady Campanula Tottington in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and for the eponymous dead heroine in Tim Burton's spooky Corpse Bride (2005), and co-starring in Conversations with Other Women (2005) opposite Aaron Eckhart.
After their meeting while filming Planet of the Apes (2001), Bonham Carter and Tim Burton made seven films together. They lived in adjoining residences in London, shared a connecting hallway, and have two children: Billy Ray Burton, born in 2003, and Nell Burton, who was born in 2007. Ironically, a mutual love of Sweeney Todd was part of the initial attraction for the pair. Bonham Carter has said in numerous interviews that her audition process for the role of Mrs. Lovett was the most grueling of her career and that, ultimately, it was Sondheim who she had to convince that she was right for the role.I love the range she has; I've seen her be motherly, psychotic, rich, poor, role model and fantastic creation of strangeness. My favorite movies with her are probably The King's Speech and Big Fish. And while I haven't seen some of her other movies, I love what I have seen of her in them from clips and quotations.
Wild and reckless with an air of sophistication to give it a distinct taste, Helena Bonham Carter is a national treasure.- Actress
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Zoe Saldana was born on June 19, 1978 in Passaic, New Jersey, to Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña. Her father was Dominican and her mother is Puerto Rican. She was raised in Queens, New York. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they would live for the next seven years. While living there, Zoe discovered a keen interest in performance dance and began her training at the prestigious ECOS Espacio de Danza Dance Academy where she learned ballet as well as other dance forms. Not only did her training provide an excellent outlet for the enthusiastic and energetic youngster, it would also prove to be a fortunate precursor for the start of her professional acting career. At age 17, Zoe and her family moved back to the United States where her love for dance followed and an interest in theater performance became stronger.
She began performing with the Faces theater troupe which put on plays geared to provide positive messages for teens with themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride knowing that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater, Zoe was recruited for a talent agency and her dance training years before coupled with her acting experience greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva Rodriguez, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the film Center Stage (2000). Since her professional career began several years ago, Zoe's talent and determination have allowed her to be involved in blockbuster films and act with major actors, actresses and industry insiders at a pace that very few young professionals have experienced.
Zoe has not only held her own in major motion picture productions but gained the respect and praise from industry insiders such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg and actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. According to many of her co-stars, producers and directors, the sky is no limit for this young star who has incredible range, intense concentration, and a steely determination to be involved with projects that challenge her professionally with wide-ranging subject matters and characters. Just to ask practically anyone who she has worked for or with about her, glowing comments abound and earned friendships and respect are readily revealed. A star has been born, and growing every day.Zoe has an Honorable Mention because if I'd made this list a few years ago, she'd have absolutely been on it. For the tiny amount of time we saw her in Pirates of The Caribbean, she was my favorite character after Jack and Barbossa. Yes, she was in Pirates of the Caribbean. I did enjoy her in Avatar as well, particularly when she let her inner animal out. But these days, it seems like Hollywood is trying to make her another sex symbol with roles like Columbiana. I don't like that. I hope we can get to see more good roles for her in the future, less unoriginal knockoffs. Even the new Star Trek film did seem to focus a little too much on that. Fortunately, Guardians of the Galaxy might help her continue branching out into different roles. She seems like someone who can avoid getting tied down to one project or even franchise.- Emily Perkins was born on 4 May 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress, known for Ginger Snaps (2000), It (1990) and Juno (2007). She is married to Ernest Mathijs.I loved Ginger Snaps, and the girls who carried it were the main reason. I loved the ever-unbalancing Ginger, but the worried Brigitte was my favorite character. Honestly, she was a major screen crush for me for a long time.
She just felt like a whole new kind of dark and brooding. She cares for her sister, and she tries to fix things, even with blood on her own hands. I regret that there aren't many other movies that feature her prominently, but there are the Ginger Snaps sequels. I think those might actually be enough for me. Even if I'm alone in my appreciation for her, it's heartfelt and hasn't faded with time. - Actress
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Melissa Ivy Rauch was born in Marlboro, New Jersey. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she received a BFA degree. While going to school, Melissa performed stand-up comedy around Manhattan, and soon made a name for herself on the NYC comedy scene. Her one-woman show, "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush", in which she portrayed Jenna Bush Hager, the former President's daughter, garnered critical acclaim and played to sold-out audiences (Outstanding Solo Show and TheaterMania's Audience Favorite Award--New York International Fringe Festival/HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival).
Melissa resides in Los Angeles, California, with Winston Rauch, her husband and writing partner.An up-and-comer I know from The Big Bang Theory as the lovable Bernadette. One of the shortest actresses I have ever seen, she's adorable! She's also hilarious, I love the high-pitched chirp she uses on TBBT, as well as when she does her impression of Howard's mother. Still, I can't help but think she deserves better.
Her sick voice is also the single funniest thing I've ever heard. Imagine this little girl making bedroom talk with the voice of one of those 55 year old ladies who have chain-smoked since they were 10. I hurt myself laughing.- Actress
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Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia. Her mother, Margarita Vergara Dávila de Vergara, is a housewife. Her father, Julio Enrique Vergara Robayo, provides cattle to the meat industry. She has five siblings. She was educated at a private bilingual Spanish/English school. She then went on to study pre-dentistry. However, Sofía was discovered by a photographer, whilst at the beach, and this led to various jobs in modeling and television. At age 23, she was a runway model. From 1995 to 1998, she co-hosted a travel show, Fuera de serie (1995), which gave her exposure in the United States. Her first film role was the criminal comedy Big Trouble (2002). Her breakthrough role was as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the American television series Modern Family (2009). In 2010-2013, she received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for this role. Sofía resides in Los Angeles, California with her son, Manolo.A recent addition who I swore I wouldn't add because I felt that people were only ever watching her for her (rocking) body. Then I started watching a little Modern Family. What won me over was the Season 3 Christmas episode. She delivers a little epilogue at the end that really touched me. That little epilogue changed my entire view of her as an actress. It wasn't overly melodramatic or contrived, wasn't forced, and also wasn't the kind of epilogue that they just seemed to give to her to say. It was a touching little piece that felt straight from her character's heart. I swore I wouldn't add someone like her unless they really earned it, and she blew me away.
Having had time to watch her in other shows and movies, I've come to admire her even more. She has a natural sense of wonder and excitement that ups the energy for every scene she's in, and brings out the best in other actors and actresses.- Georgina Helen Henley was born July 9, 1995 in Ilkley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, the youngest of three daughters of Mike and Helen Henley. When she was young, she joined a local drama group called "Upstagers". It was there that she started her acting career, participating in stage performances such as "Babushka: A Christmas Story" and "The Pied Piper", prior to landing her first role in a film.
When Pippa Hall, casting director for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) came to Georgie's town in search of children to play the four Pevensies, she knew Georgie was perfect for the role of "Lucy" after only one audition. Finally, after 18 months of auditioning, Georgie was picked from thousands of girls to play "Lucy Pevensie" in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), which was her movie debut. She reprised her role in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Georgie's promotion of the three Narnia films took her to New York, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, and lots of other places around the world.
Georgie finished 6th form at Bradford Grammar School in 2012, and started at Cambridge University, in Autumn 2013, to study English. She is no longer a part of her drama club "Upstagers", but hopes to continue her acting career on the big screen, and has also done some theatre work at her school. In her free time, she enjoys watching films with her friends, and listening to and writing music. She says that if she doesn't keep acting in the future, she'd like to teach, or experiment with music or writing.I'm a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia films, and Lucy was always my favorite. Particularly during The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; she proved she is more than just the cute, childlike sister. She has feelings and concerns and problems and character. I really hope to see more of her, outside of Narnia. - Actress
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Jenna Fischer is best known for playing Pam Beesly on the acclaimed television show The Office, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Comedy.
She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but was raised mostly in St. Louis, Missouri. Jenna watched her mom, Anne, perform in church plays when she was young, which instilled a love of theater and performance.
A trained theater actress, Fischer returned to her roots after wrapping The Office. She starred in the Off-Broadway play Reasons to Be Happy, written and directed by Neil LaBute and co-starring Josh Hamilton, Leslie Bibb, and Fred Weller. She went on to star in the world premiere of Steve Martin's newest play Meteor Shower, an absurdist comedy opposite Greg Germann and Josh Stamberg, for a record-breaking run at the Old Globe Theatre.
In October 2019, Fischer and The Office cast-mate and real-life best friend Angela Kinsey launched a podcast called Office Ladies on the Earwolf platform, which has become wildly popular, landing in the Top Ten globally every week and receiving over 200 million downloads in its first two years. In January 2021, Office Ladies won iHeart Radio's Podcast of the Year award.
She is the author of two books: The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide, in which she details her journey from St. Louis to Hollywood to become a working actress, and the forthcoming Office BFF's: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There (co-authored with Angela Kinsey), which is a memoir of their best friendship and time working on The Office.Particularly in The Office. Smart, down-to-earth, helps anchor things to some semblance of reality. The show is always funnier when she's there, whether she's involved or just sitting there staring. Her and Jim are a perfect match for quietly screwing with the crazy people. At the same time, she also feels like an actress with a lot more to offer, like many of the actors/actresses on that show. At the same time, I think she also has a lot more to offer, comedy and otherwise.
Yes she's the model for sweet and even homely (which she turns into a great compliment). Really, she makes being yourself seem like your best quality. In her own little way, she's changed all of us.- Actress
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Maya Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, to Richard Rudolph, a music producer, and soul singer Minnie Riperton. Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish (from a family from Lithuania, Russia, Germany, and Hungary). In 1973, Maya, her parents, and her older brother, Marc Rudolph, moved to California to further Minnie's music career. Here Minnie recorded "Lovin' You", her most famous single, in which one can hear her sing "Maya, Maya, Maya" at the end of the song; Riperton said that the song was used as a lullaby for Maya.
During adolescence, Maya attended St. Augustine by the Sea School, where she met childhood friend, Gwyneth Paltrow. The Paltrows and the Rudolphs became family friends and, in 2000, Richard Rudolph and Maya filled the role of music supervisors on the Bruce Paltrow-directed film Duets (2000), which starred Gwyneth.
In 1990, Maya enrolled at the University of California at Santa Cruz, majoring in photography. It was here that Maya formed the band "Supersauce" with fellow students. After graduation in 1994, Maya left the band and soon joined The Rentals, fronted by Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. Maya was featured on the 1999 release "Seven More Minutes", where she sang backup vocals on "Barcelona" and "My Head is in the Sun". Maya began touring with the group, singing backup and playing Moog synthesizer. When The Rentals disbanded, Maya decided to pursue her dream of a career in comedy, joining the famed troupe "The Groundlings".
On May 6, 2000, Maya joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975), and became one of that show's most popular performers. Famous sketches include a dead-on impression of fashion diva Donatella Versace; high school flake "Megan", the host of her own morning talk show, "Wake-up WakeField"; and one of the members of the R&B parody "Gemini's Twin". In 2006, she co-starred in the film A Prairie Home Companion (2006), directed by the legendary Robert Altman and based on the NPR show by Garrison Keillor.
Maya has four children with her partner, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.This is somewhat of a weird choice for me because I've seen almost none of Maya's work. I don't watch SNL much at all, or most of the shows she's been involved in. But every now and then I catch glimpses of her. And she kills me. I can't quite describe it, but she just kills me.
I'm at a loss for words with regards to describing her comedic style, because I haven't watched it enough to really start to pick up on her particular method; but the one thing I always feel when I watch her is that this is a woman who just has an instinctual knowledge of what is funny. Her actual material may be hit or miss, but she just seems like a friendly and very funny person. I like that about her.
Also, she's a fantastic singer.- Actress
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Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is a British actress known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Young Victoria (2009), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and The Girl on the Train (2016), among many others.
Blunt was born on February 23, 1983, in Roehampton, South West London, England, the second of four children in the family of Joanna Mackie, a former actress and teacher, and Oliver Simon Peter Blunt, a barrister. Her grandfather was Major General Peter Blunt, and her uncle is MP Crispin Blunt. Emily received a rigorous education at Ibstock Place School, a co-ed private school at Roehampton. However, young Emily Blunt had a stammer, since she was a kid of 8. Her mother took her to relaxation classes, which did not do anything. She reached a turning point at 12, when a teacher cleverly asked her to play a character with a different voice and said, "I really believe in you". Blunt ended up using a northern accent, and it did the trick, her stammer disappeared.
From 1999 - 2001, Blunt went to Hurtwood House, the top co-ed boarding school where she would excel at sport, cello and singing. She also had two years of drama studies at Hurtwood's theatre course. In August 2000, she was chosen to perform at the Edinburgh Festival. She was signed up by an agent, Kenneth Mcreddie, who led her to the West End and the BBC, scoring her roles in several period dramas on stage as well as on TV productions, such as Foyle's War (2002), Henry VIII (2003) and Empire (2005). In 2001, she appeared as "Gwen Cavendish" opposite Dame Judi Dench in Sir Peter Hall's production of "The Royal Family" at Haymarket Theatre. For that role, she won the Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer. In 2002, she played "Juliet" in "Romeo and Juliet" at the prestigious Chichester Festival.
Blunt's career ascended to international fame after she starred as "Isolda" opposite Alex Kingston in Warrior Queen (2003). A year later, she won critical acclaim for her breakout performance as "Tamsin", a well-educated, cynical and deceptive 16-year-old beauty in My Summer of Love (2004), a story of two lonely girls from the opposite ends of the social heap. Emily Blunt and her co-star, Natalie Press, shared an Evening Standard British Film award for Most Promising Newcomer. In 2005, she spent a few months in Australia filming Irresistible (2006) with Susan Sarandon and Sam Neill. Blunt gave an impressive performance as "Mara", a cunning young destroyer who acts crazy and surreptitiously provokes paranoia in others. She also continued her work on British television, starring as "Natasha" in Stephen Poliakoff's Gideon's Daughter (2005), opposite Bill Nighy, a role that won her a 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.
She continued the line of playing manipulative characters as "Emily", a caustic put-upon assistant to Meryl Streep's lead in The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Blunt's performance with a neurotic twist added a dimension of sarcasm to the comedy, and gained her much attention as well as new jobs: in two dramas opposite Tom Hanks, then in the title role in the period drama, The Young Victoria (2009). Her most recent works include appearances as antiques dealer "Gwen Conliffe" in The Wolfman (2010) and as the ballerina in The Adjustment Bureau (2011).
Emily is a highly versatile actress and a multifaceted person. Her talents include singing and playing cello; she is also skilled at horseback riding.
On August 28, 2009, Blunt and Krasinski announced their engagement. The couple married on July 10, 2010, at the estate of their friend, George Clooney, on Lake Como in Italy. Blunt and Krasinski live in the Los Angeles area, California, and have two children.A fantastic actress on the rise, with near-endless possibilities ahead for her. First saw her in The Devil Wears Prada (yes, I saw The Devil Wears Prada). She carries a kind of professionalism and realism that makes her stand out in any movie. At the same time, I think my favorite moments of hers are when she does cut loose.
Clearly I am not the only one who thinks she's awesome and amazing in any way. She's like the Edward Norton of actresses. We've seen her in far fewer movies than we think we have, but she's made such an endearing effect on us that we act like we watch everything she's in.
Charm, composure, talent, humor, what more can an actor desire?- Actress
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Alison Pill was most recently seen in HELLO TOMORROW! for Apple TV+. She previously starred in the CBS All Access series, STAR TREK: PICARD, Alex Garland's FX miniseries, DEVS, and the Amazon series, THEM. Pill's other television work includes Ryan Murphy's AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT, the ABC drama THE FAMILY, the acclaimed Aaron Sorkin HBO series THE NEWSROOM, the HBO drama IN TREATMENT, THE BOOK OF DANIEL, and LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS.
Alison's film credits include ALL MY PUNY SORROWS, which premiered at TIFF in 2021 and the Oscar nominated biopic, VICE, written and directed by Adam McKay, opposite Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Steve Carrell. Pill's other film credits include MISS SLOANE, HAIL CAESAR!, SNOWPIERCER, GOON, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, MILK, DAN IN REAL LIFE, DEAR WENDY, and PIECES OF APRIL. Next up for Alison is Michael Shannon's ERIC LARUE.
Alison starred on Broadway in the Tony nominated production of THREE TALL WOMEN, written by Edward Albee, directed by Joe Mantello, and opposite Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE and for a Lucille Lortel Award for ON THE MOUNTAIN. She won The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble in the U.S. premiere of THE DISTANCE FROM HERE.As Kim in Scott Pilgrim vs The World, she brought down the house with every word that crawled out of her deadpan expression; then kicked out the jams and showed everyone he rocker core.
As Maggie in The Newsroom, she manages to be at the center of everything without having any actual power. She is hopeful, talented, and recognized; although even the interns have more influence than she does.
In Goon, she's somewhere between the comedically bipolar Kim and realistic-but-stressed Maggie. Kind and friendly, but also very aware of her own weaknesses and failures.
No matter what Miss Pill is in, I always love her. Whether her true talent lies in comedy or drama, deadpan or outrageous emotion; she has a lot to bring to the table in any movie fortunate enough to have her.- Actress
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Here's someone who made quite an entrance into the comic book movie scene. Within 10 seconds of glimpsing her in the trailers for The Wolverine, I distrusted her. Within 10 minutes of meeting her in The Wolverine, I began praying to the comic book Gods we would get to see more of her.
She plays a character who is remarkably well-rounded for a comic book character, particularly given her comic-counterpart isn't a very essential character in any version of the series. She's young and energetic, with a deep sense of honor and tradition that she can tap into when the situation calls for it. Her car is messy and she likes to wear boots and "Where's Waldo" striped shirts, and she hangs on to Wolverine like a doting but independent little sister.
It's hard not to fall in love a character like that. And for an actress so young with so little experience before this film; she certainly made an impression on me. I have high hopes for Miss Fukushima. Except now that Days of Future Past has happened, The Wolverine has never happened, and we may never see her again. God friggin' damn it.- Actress
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Rinko was born Kikuchi Yuriko in Hadano just south of Tokyo. The town is known mainly for its green tea and public baths. She is the youngest of three siblings. After being scouted on the street, she began modeling in her hometown and subsequently began acting under her birth name before switching to Rinko. She appeared in the cult film The Taste Of Tea, but came to mainstream audiences' attention for her role in Babel, for which she had learned sign language. She played a deaf-mute. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for the Oscars in 50 years, since Miyoshi Umeki. Other than that she had appeared in commercials, including ads for Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as Japanese soap operas. As a result, her popularity rose outside her native country. She moved to New York City and lived for a time with director Spike Jonze, whom she had met in Tokyo at a film festival in 2009. That's when she began taking English lessons. While she had appeared in the acclaimed film version of Norwegian Wood, her later American were mostly popcorn flicks like 47 Ronin and Pacific Rim. Her success and foray into American entertainment continued with her castings in Kumiko, and Westworld. Rinko married Japanese actor Sometani Shota in 2014 and gave birth to a son in October 2016. She is a capable rider of horses and motorcycles and grew up watching samurai films.I'm going to admit my sins here and now and say that Pacific Rim was the first film of hers I saw. I know now she is an Academy-Award nominated actress, the first asian actress to be nominated in 50 years, and was nominated for a role that featured almost no dialogue (not just no english dialogue; no dialogue *period*). She is clearly a phenomenally talented actress, and I should be ashamed at only knowing her for a Giant Monster/Giant Robot blockbuster film.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let my individual praise begin. In an IMAX film that featured giant kaiju monsters duking it out with 2,500 ton mechs, as well as two of my favorite actors (Charlie Day and Ron Perlman); I could not take my eyes off this amazing woman the moment she came on screen. Every second she's on camera she just grabs you, you can't look away and you don't want to.
As that Oscar nomination shows, she can dominate a scene even when she isn't the main focus of attention. Subtlety in her expressions and reactions, and a fantastic understanding of herself; I have a lot to learn about this wonderful performer, but I am eager to start trying.