Naomi Watts

Born in England, raised in Australia and — after 15 years of hard work — an "overnight" Hollywood success, this actress is as brilliant as she is gorgeous. Watts began studying acting Down Under and befriended Nicole Kidman at a commercial audition when the two were just teens. In their twenties they both appeared in the boarding-school drama Flirting, but Kidman's star rose much more quickly than Watts'. Throughout the '90s, Watts languished in supporting parts that failed to showcase her incredible versatility and knack for accents. Yet, with a lot of encouragement from Kidman, she stuck it out and finally got her big break in 2001's Mulholland Dr. Originally conceived as a TV series, this offbeat chronicle of an L.A. starlet was released as a movie that featured Watts in two powerhouse parts. Audiences and critics immediately took notice of her talent, and the next year she finally hit the big time with the horror flick The Ring and made the tabloids because of her romance with hunk Heath Ledger, 10 years her junior. Watts continued her hot streak with an Oscar-nominated turn in 2003's 21 Grams and soon signed on to play an ape's best gal in the remake of King Kong. After her relationship with Ledger ended in 2004, she found new love in the arms of the more mature Liev Schreiber, her costar in The Painted Veil.