Claire Danes

It took 19 episodes as the angsty, insecure Angela Chase on ABC's beloved teen drama My So-Called Life to launch Claire Danes' career as one of her generation's most acclaimed actresses.

At 10, the native New Yorker studied method acting at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. At 17, she played Juliet to Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo in Baz Luhrmann's take on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. And at the height of her career, the in-demand actress put filmmaking on hold to attend Yale University.

After two years, Danes left the Ivy League to return to acting, with starring roles in Steve Martin's Shopgirl, the Broadway revival of Pygmalion, and her Emmy-winning performance in HBO's Temple Grandin. Off-screen, Danes found happiness with Evening costar Hugh Dancy, whom she married in 2009.