A statuesque Danish beauty, Connie Nielsen has lent her considerable talents to parts that have cast her as everything from Satan's spawn to an astronaut to an emperor's daughter. Regardless of the role or the quality of the script, she has managed to transcend the limitations and delivered memorable full-bodied performances. Raised in a small coastal village in Denmark, Nielsen became enamored with movies at a young age through weekly visits at the local movie theater. She was encouraged to pursue a theatrical career by her actress-writer mother, alongside whom she made her stage acting debut at age 15. Three years later, Nielsen moved to Paris to pursue a career and she further studied her craft in such far-flung locations as South Africa, NYC and Rome. Fluent in several languages, she easily found work in films produced in Italy and France and caught a break with the American made-for-cable movie "Voyage" (USA Network, 1993).

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.

This 16th "James Bond girl" followed in the spike-heeled footsteps of female actors as diverse as Ursula Andress, Jill St John, Jane Seymour and Joanna Lumley (as well as more than a few whose names are long-forgotten). A geologist's daughter, the New York-born Lowell grew up in Libya, Holland, Virginia and Texas. By the time she was a fine-featured high school graduate, she had been signed by the Ford modeling agency and was posing for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein while attending college.

Handsome, with chiseled, smooth looks and deep olive skin, Benjamin Bratt became known to TV viewers in 1995 when he joined the hit NBC series "Law & Order" in its sixth season, creating the role of Reyaldo 'Rey' Curtis, whose mestizo ancestry--mixed Latino-Indian and German background--matched Bratt's own. His character on the series, a family-oriented younger cop with conservative values, provided a marked contrast to the older, more liberal and cynical Det. Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach).

Like many of her fellow models, sultry Angie Harmon made the transition to acting landing the leading role of private detective Ryan McBride on the syndicated series "Baywatch Nights" (1995-97). The only child of models, the Dallas-born beauty actually began her career as a newborn, appearing in a hospital-made film "How to Give Your Baby a Bath". As she matured, Harmon continued to work as a local model moving to a national stage at age 15 when she was named the winner of Seventeenmagazine's cover model contest.

 espite a Quaker upbringing, actress Amanda Peet has depicted some wildly offbeat—and often risqué—characters throughout her career. Born in New York, NY on January 11, 1972, Peet attended the Friends Seminary until she was 7-years-old, when her family moved to London. Four years later, the family returned to New York where Peet continued her Quaker education before attending Columbia University where she earned a degree in American History.