To look upon the face of Claire Danes is to discover an exquisitely expressive canvas for all the emotional colorings of life. This remarkably self-possessed young performer brought startling authenticity as well as intelligence and complexity to her starring role in the landmark high school/family drama "My So-Called Life" (ABC, 1994-95). Danes' often heartrending portrayal of a fifteen-year-old coping with the rigors of adolescence contributed to the cult series' avalanche of kudos and won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nod for its rising star. The low-rated, short-lived program counted Steven Spielberg and Winona Ryder among its followers.

Attractively rumpled blue-eyed blond performer Chad Michael Murray began as a model and successfully segued to an acting career with high profile roles on The WB on the small screen and parts as teen queen love interests on the big screen.

 When Brooke Shields uttered the suggestive fashion catchphrase, “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing…” she may as well have been talking about her career instead of a pair of jeans. Shields carved out a long and profitable run as a model, actress, and author, despite innumerable personal and professional setbacks that would have derailed even the most driven entertainer.

Representing the third generation of Hustons to win an Academy Award, Anjelica Huston finally emerged from the shadows of father John and long-time beau Jack Nicholson to parlay her striking, off-beat beauty and "deep class" (as termed by Nicholson) into a career as an actress of great strength and emotional range. Though she managed to survive a disastrous starring debut in her father's "A Walk with Love and Death" (1969), the howls of nepotism that nearly ended her career before it began did cause her to withdraw temporarily from the profession.