In honour of Reese Witherspoon, we offer a list of other Hollywood women who make a real impact, not just as sex symbols but as substantial actresses with enduring careers.
Each of our candidates might have had short, spectacular careers just as screen hotties. They could have been a bunch of desperate girlfriends or housewives in movies or TV series. But each turned serious instead. With the occasional silly genre piece for the fun of it.
That is what Oscar-winner Witherspoon has done. The political thriller Rendition is the latest evidence of her segue from Legally Blonde to legally serious. It takes talent, fortitude and the guts to refuse to play the Hollywood game just for the sake of celebrity. Here are seven who do it right:
CHARLIZE THERON
Origins: South African, born in Benoni, near Johannesburg.
Age: 32
Early Career: Failed at both modelling (didn't like it) and ballet dancing (knee injury). So she turned to acting, spending three seconds on screen in Children of the Corn III (1995). More creative roles in 2 Days in the Valley (1996), That Thing You Do! (1996) and The Devil's Advocate (1997) pushed her on although she, like Jessica Lange, had a gorilla encounter with Mighty Joe Young (1998).
Substance: Despite drop-dead gorgeous looks, she went fat and ugly for Monster (2003) and won an Oscar. Nominated again for North Country (2005).
MICHELLE PFEIFFER
Origins: American, born in Santa Ana, Calif.
Age: 49
Early Career: Having won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant, she played Stephanie in Grease 2 (1982), Elvira in Scarface (1983) and Isabeau d'Anjou in Ladyhawke, establishing her screen babe status.
Substance: Now has three Oscar nominations for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) and Love Field (1992).
JESSICA LANGE
Origins: American,
born in Cloquet, Minn.
Age: 58
Early Career: As a former New York model, she played the screamer in the ill-fated re-make of King Kong (1976), then waited three years for an alluring role in All That Jazz (1979) and went on to tempt Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981).
Substance: In the tragic biopic Frances (1982), Lange was already signalling that she had a serious side. It earned her the first of six Oscar noms and she has won twice for Tootsie (1982) and Blue Sky (1994).
JODIE FOSTER
Origins: American, born in Los Angeles.
Age: 44
Early Career: Made her debut on TV at 7 on an episode of The Doris Day Show. Based on child stardom in her Oscar-nominated role as a teen hooker in Taxi Driver (1976), she could have later become a screen hottie.
Substance: Instead of frivolity, and respecting the careers of Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, Foster went on to an impressive career with four Oscar noms so far. She has won twice: The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
ANGELINA JOLIE
Origins: American, born in Los Angeles.
Age: 32
Early Career: As the daughter of Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, she grew up in Hollywood, working as a model at 16. Had beginner's roles in movies such as Cyborg 2 (1993), Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996).
Substance: Still young, she generated Emmy noms for George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), the latter the tragic story of wild child, drug-addicted model Gia Carangi, who died of AIDS. With Girl, Interrupted (1999), Jolie had an Oscar. A Mighty Heart (2007) might generate another nom this year. Despite hoopla around her life with Brad Pitt, Jolie is also respected for her contributions to U.N. efforts to help refugees.
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
Origins: English, born in Teddington, Middlesex.
Age: 22
Early Career: She's still in the early stages, of course. But her first movie role was at 9 in A Village Affair (1994). She played the decoy queen for Natalie Portman in Stars Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace (1999) and, of course, wields a sword in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Substance: Donald Sutherland told Sun Media how impressed he was with her in Pride and Prejudice (2005), and the veteran Canadian is not easily swayed by young talent. He predicted a long, illustrious and serious career for the sparky young English lass, who can swear like a longshoreman yet is sultry as silk in movies such as Silk (2007). The forthcoming Atonement (2007) will also prove her mettle as an actress.
SARAH POLLEY
Origins: Canadian, born in Toronto.
Age: 28
Early Career: Was the child star of Terry Gilliam's mad adventure, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and did 58 episodes of Road to Avonlea (1990-96). Could have easily become a Hollywood hottie when her U.S. career percolated with Guinevere (1999) and Go (1999).
Substance: Instead, she chose the road less travelled as a political activist, as a serious actress and now as an astonishingly accomplished filmmaker with Away From Her (2007).
