My Favorite Actress All Time

Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Mitchell in Pittsfield, a small city in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts near the New York border, on February 10, 1974. She is the daughter of Ann (Wallace), who worked in a bank, and Mark P. Mitchell, a factory worker. Elizabeth describes herself as having been seen as a "goody two-shoes" in her youth who was nominated for the local Harvest Queen.  Her breakthrough role was as Betty Brant, the secretary of the cantankerous newspaper tycoon in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002). In 2003 she won the Exciting New Face Award at the Young Hollywood Awards.  One of only three women to have won the Razzie Award for Worst Director. (The other two being Elaine May for Ishtar (1987) and Jennifer Chambers Lynch for Boxing Helena(1993).) Banks was actually one of several directors cited for Movie 43 (2013).  Ranked #39 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World.".

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

 Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title, which she won, her beauty and charm made her India's darling.  With her successful Bollywood movies & prestigious Hollywood projects lined up for release it is impossible to ignore this Indian diva in international scenes.  This former architecture major soon became one of India's most famous models, landing a prestigious Pepsi-Cola campaign and appearing in Vogue Magazine. India's top Bollywood directors were soon lining up to work with Ash. Ash's star continued to rise in 2002, working again with Sajay Leela Bhansali in Devdas (2002), the most ambitious and most successful film in Bollywood history. It became the first Bollywood picture to receive a special screening at that year's Cannes Film Festival and broke box-office records in India and the US.   She has graced numerous covers worldwide including the US, UK, China, Russia, Israel, United Emerites, Italy, Spain and France. She also became the first Indian female to be immortalized in wax at the world-famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London.  Is featured in the 2004 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press.  The public paid $275 million for theater tickets to see a buffed up Jolie portray the adventuresome Lara Croft.  Jolie and Pitt announced in early 2006 that they would have a child together, and Jolie gave birth to daughter Shiloh that May. They also adopted a three-year-old Vietnamese boy named Pax.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to an African-American father and first came into the spotlight at seventeen years when she won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant, representing the state of Ohio in 1985 and, a year later in 1986, when she was the first runner-up in the Miss U.S.A. Pageant. After participating in the pageant, Halle became a model. It eventually led to her first weekly TV series, 1989's Living Dolls (1989), where she soon gained a reputation for her on-set tenacity, preferring to "live" her roles and remaining in character even when the cameras stopped rolling.   she was the first African American actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress.  Was named "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Esquire magazine in 2008.

Julia Roberts

Julia Fiona Roberts, born in Smyrna, Georgia, never dreamed she would become the most popular actress in America. As a child, due to her love of animals, Julia originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but later studied journalism.  Julia's biggest success was in the signature movie Pretty Woman (1990), for which Julia got an Oscar nomination, and also won the People's Choice award for Favorite Actress.  Ranked #1 (in Hollywood Power) and #12 (in $$) on Forbes magazine 'Power 100'.  First actress to reach 20 million dollar mark salary (for Erin Brockovich (2000)) .

Michelle Yoeh

Born as Yang Zi Chong in the mining town of Ipoh in West Malaysia in the lunar year of the Tiger, she spoke English and Malay before Chinese. A ballet dancer since age 4, she moved to London, England to study at the Royal Academy as a teenager. After a brief dance career, she won the Miss Malaysia beauty pageant title in her native country and the Miss Moomba beauty pageant title in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1980s. Her first on camera work was a 1984 commercial with martial arts star Jackie Chan. In 1985, she began making action movies with D&B Films of Hong Kong. She was first billed as Michelle Khan, then later, Michelle Yeoh. Never a trained martial artist, she relied on her dance discipline and her on-set trainers to prepare for her martial arts action scenes.  She uses many dance moves in her films. Ironically, she still cannot read Chinese and she has to have Chinese script read to her.  She became very popular to Chinese audiences and she became known to western audiences through her co-starring roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).  Fought her way to the top in the male-dominated genre of Hong Kong action films, where she has been known for years as the "queen of martial arts".  One of the highest paid Chinese-language actresses in the world. In 2001, she was given the title of "dato'" by the Sultan of Perak, her native state.  In October 2007, was named a Chevalier of the French Legion d'Honneur, for her contributions to international culture.  Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock was born in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., to Helga (Meyer), a German opera singer, and John W. Bullock, a U.S. voice teacher from Alabama. She grew up on the road with her parents and younger sister. She often performed in the children's chorus of whatever production her mother was in. That singing talent later came in handy for her role as an aspiring country singer in The Thing Called Love (1993).   She now ranks as one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. For her role in The Blind Side (2009) she won the Oscar, and her blockbusters The Proposal (2009), The Heat (2013) and Gravity (2013) made her a bankable star. With $56,000,000, she was listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress in the world.  Named 'Entertainer of the Year' by Entertainment Weekly in 2013.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz was born in 1972 in San Diego. Self-described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. Returning to California at the age of 21, she was working as a model when her agency secured her an audition for the female lead in The Mask (1994) opposite rising comedian Jim Carrey.  With her name near the top on virtually every list of Hollywood's sexiest actresses, and firmly established as one of filmdom's hottest properties and most sought after actresses, Cameron Diaz appears to possess everything necessary to become one of the super stars of the new century.  Became only the second actress to join the coveted $20 Million Club (after Julia Roberts), when she signed for that amount to do Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) in January 2002.  Named by People Magazine as one of the the "50 Most Beautiful People" in the world.

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner, who has catapulted into stardom with her lead role on the television series Alias (2001), has come a long way from her birthplace of Houston, Texas. Raised in Charleston, West Virginia by her mother Pat, a retired English teacher, and her father, Bill, a former chemical engineer, Jennifer was the middle sibling of three girls. She spent nine years of her adolescence studying ballet and describes her years in dance as ones characterized by determination rather than talent, being driven mostly by a love of the stage. For  her work, Garner has received four consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She has also received four Golden Globe nominations and won once, as well as received two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and won once.  Named the #1 sexiest woman of 2001 by MAXIM men's magazine.

Kate Winslet

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Kate Elizabeth Winslet is the second of four children of Sally Anne (née Bridges), a barmaid, and Roger John Winslet, a swimming pool contractor.  Winslet began studying drama at the age of 11 at the Redroofs Theatre School, a co-educational independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where she was head girl.  The role that transformed Winslet from art house attraction to international star was Rose DeWitt Bukater, the passionate, rosy-cheeked aristocrat in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Young girls the world over both idolized and identified with Winslet, swooning over all that face time opposite heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio and noting her refreshingly healthy, unemaciated physique. Winslet's performance also garnered a Best Actress nomination, making her the youngest actress to ever receive two Academy Award nominations. She was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her accomplishments in film and television.

Nicole Kidman

Elegant redhead Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Australian parents Anthony (a biochemist and clinical psychologist) and Janelle (a nursing instructor) Kidman.  She is in the 50th-anniversary edition of the Guinness Book Of Records as the highest-paid actress in a commercial. She netted $3.71 million for her part in a four-minute Baz Luhrmann-directed Chanel No. 5 movie ad.  Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine.