Natalie Portman

unlike many of her contemporaries who also started out as child actors, Natalie Portman has successfully managed to parlay her early success into an enduring career. Natalie made her feature-length film debut in 1994 with a key role in Luc Besson’s The Professional, and has worked steadily ever since. She’s taken on roles in acclaimed dramas such as 1996’s Beautiful GirlsGarden State, starred alongside and 2004’s Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson in the Star Wars prequels, and has held her own opposite heavy-hitters like Jude Law, Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon.

Natalie kept a fairly low profile in 2006, appearing in only a couple of different projects. First up was V for Vendetta, a futuristic thriller based on Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novel. She followed that up with an appearance in a low-budget foreign film called Free Zone, which cast Natalie as an American tourist exploring her roots in Israel. Natalie’s recurring place on out Top 99 doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as she is (and will surely continue to be) one of the most interesting and flat-out talented actresses of her generation.