Unconventional Beauties

1. Cate Blanchett

Actress | Carol

Cate Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to June (Gamble), an Australian teacher and property developer, and Robert DeWitt Blanchett, Jr., an American advertising executive, originally from Texas. She has an older brother and a younger sister. When she was ten ...

2. Claudia Black

Actress | Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars

Claudia Lee Black was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. Her parents Jules and Judy Black are both Australian Medical Academics Doctors. She has lived in Australia, New Zealand, England and the US. Throughout her career Black has played in many Australian and New Zealand films and guested on ...

3. Robin Wright

Actress | Forrest Gump

Robin Gayle Wright was born in Dallas, Texas, to Gayle (Gaston), a national director at Mary Kay, and Freddie Wright, a pharmaceutical executive. She grew up in San Diego, California. She started her professional career as a model in 1980 at age 14, and worked both in Paris and Japan. After ...

4. Claire Danes

Actress | My So-Called Life

New Yorker Claire Catherine Danes was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Carla (Hall), a day-care provider and artist, and Christopher Danes, a computer consultant and photographer. She has an older brother, Asa. Her paternal grandfather, Gibson Andrew Danes, was a Dean of the Yale School of Art ...

5. Anna Paquin

Actress | The Piano

Anna Paquin is the first millennial to have received an Academy Award nomination for acting, and the first to win.

She was born on July 24, 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Mary (Brophy), an English teacher from Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a Canadian phys-ed teacher. Anna moved ...

6. Lisa Edelstein

Actress | House M.D.

From her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the hit Fox series "House" to her starring role as Abby McCarthy in Bravo's first scripted series "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," Lisa Edelstein's range of roles are as diverse as her talent. Set for a Summer 2018 Season 5 premiere, "Girlfriends' Guide" is a ...

7. Soleil Moon Frye

Actress | Punky Brewster

Soleil Moon Frye began acting at the age of two, after seeing her father, veteran actor Virgil Frye, and brother, Meeno Peluce, on TV. Her father got her an agent, Herb Tannen & Associates in Hollywood, and her career soon took off. Her mother, Sondra Peluce, became her manager. At age eight, she ...

8. Holly Hunter

Actress | Broadcast News

Holly Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, to Opal Marguerite (Catledge), a homemaker, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a part-time sporting goods company representative and farmer with a 250 acre farm. She is the youngest of seven children. Her parents encouraged her talent at an early age, and her first...

9. Lea Michele

Actress | Glee

Lea Michele Sarfati was born in the Bronx, New York to Edith Thomasina (Porcelli), a nurse, and Mark David Sarfati, a delicatessen owner-turned-real estate agent. Her mother is of Italian descent (from Rome and Naples), and her father is of Sephardi Jewish ancestry (from Turkey and Greece). Lea was...

10. Jemima Kirke

Actress | Tiny Furniture

Jemima Kirke is the daughter of drummer Simon Kirke and vintage boutique owner, Lorraine Kirke. Although born in London, Kirke was raised in New York City. She was educated at Saint Ann's School in New York, before moving on to Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied art and graduated as a...

11. Angie Gregory

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Angie Gregory was born on January 25, 1975 in Paducah, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress known for The Republic of Rick (2014) and Alone Wolf (2020). Angie graduated with honors from Murray State University, where she studied theater and television production. She has been married to actress Lori ...

12. Sarah Jessica Parker

Actress | Sex and the City

Sarah Jessica Parker was born March 25, 1965, in Nelsonville, Ohio, to Barbra Forste (née Keck), a teacher who ran a nursery school, and Stephen Parker, a journalist. Her parents divorced, and her mother later remarried to Paul Forste and had four more children, bringing the total to eight. Sarah ...

13. Maria Bello

Actress | A History of Violence

Maria Bello was born on 18 April, 1967 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, to Kathy, a nurse and teacher, and Joe Bello, a contractor. She is of Italian and Polish descent. Maria went to Villanova University, majoring in political science. She had every intention of becoming a lawyer, but she took an ...

14. Jennifer Wilson

Actress | BYRDwatch

Jennifer Ann Wilson is a television producer, journalist and storyteller with a background in comedy and an adventurous streak. She has run marathons with Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, been a coach for Girls on the Run and a volunteer "Angel" with My Team Triumph helping ...

15. Juliette Lewis

Actress | Natural Born Killers

Juliette Lewis has been recognized as one of Hollywood's most talented and versatile actors of her generation since she first stunned audiences and critics alike with her Oscar-nominated performance as "Danielle Bowden" in Cape Fear (1991). To date, she has worked with some of the most revered ...

16. Angela Gots

Actress | City of Lies

Angela Gots, also known as Angela Maria Gots, is an American-born, Russian actress. Born and raised in New York City, into a family of artists from St. Petersburg, Russia, Gots' mother is a renowned ballet teacher and her father is a creator of a Russian theater of mime. Angela had an early ...

17. Uma Thurman

Actress | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander ...

18. Vanessa Lengies

Actress | Stick It

Vanessa Brittany Lengies, born July 21, 1985, Canadian actress, dancer and singer. She is best known for her role on American Dreams and as Sugar Motta on Glee. Lengies was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to a German father and an Egyptian mother. She speaks French, English and some Arabic. ...

19. Leelee Sobieski

Actress | Never Been Kissed

Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski was born June 10, 1983 in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Elizabeth Sobieski (née Salomon), a writer, and Jean Sobieski, a painter who has also acted. She has a younger brother, Robert. Her father, born in France, is of Polish and Swiss ...

20. Lady Gaga

Soundtrack | A Star Is Born

Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is an American songwriter, singer, actress, philanthropist, dancer and fashion designer.

Gaga was born on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City, to Cynthia Louise (Bissett), a philanthropist and business executive, and Joseph Anthony ...

21. Jessye Norman

Soundtrack | Wild at Heart

Jessye Norman was born on September 15, 1945 in Augusta, Georgia, USA. She was an actress, known for Wild at Heart (1990), The Hours (2002) and Choke (2008). She died on September 30, 2019 in New York City, New York, USA.

22. Vidya Balan

Actress | Kahaani

Vidya was born in Palghat, Kerala, India. Her family consists of her dad, P.R. Balan, who is the Vice-President of ETC Channel; mom - a home-maker, and an elder sister, Priya, who is married to Kedar. She also has an aunt by the name of Raji Raju.

The Balan family re-located to live at Road No. 11, ...

23. Necar Zadegan

Actress | 24

Necar Zadegan is a versatile actress known for a career on stage and screen. She made her Broadway debut when she originated the role of the Leper in Rajiv Joseph's Pulitzer Prize nominated and multi Tony award accoladed play " The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" opposite Robin Williams. She stars...

24. Geena Davis

Actress | Thelma & Louise

As a child, Geena dreamed of being an actress. While in high school, she felt left out and had low self-esteem because, at 6 feet, she was the tallest girl in school. After high school graduation, Geena entered New England College in New Hampshire and then transferred the next year to Boston ...

25. Bryce Dallas Howard

Actress | Jurassic World Dominion

Bryce Dallas Howard was born on March 2, 1981, in Los Angeles, California. She was conceived in Dallas, Texas (the reason for her middle name). Her father, Ron Howard, is a former actor turned Oscar-winning director. Her mother is actress and writer Cheryl Howard (née Alley). Her famous relatives ...

26. Sandra Bullock

Producer | The Proposal

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Her mother, Helga Bullock (née Helga Mathilde Meyer), was a German opera singer. Her father, John W. Bullock, was an American voice teacher, who was born in Alabama, of German descent. Sandra grew up on the road ...

27. Rebekah Tripp

Actress | Pretty Boy

Rebekah Tripp is known for Pretty Boy (2015), Can You Take My Picture (2018) and Incarcerated (2023).

28. Anne Hathaway

Actress | Les Misérables

Anne Jacqueline Hathaway was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate McCauley Hathaway, an actress, and Gerald T. Hathaway, a lawyer, both originally from Philadelphia. She is of mostly Irish descent, along with English, German, and French. Her first major role came in the short-lived television series ...

29. Sandra Oh

Actress | Killing Eve

Sandra Oh was born to Korean parents in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Oh Junsu, a businessman, and her mother, Oh Young-Nam, a biochemist, were married in Seoul, Korea. They both attended graduate school at the University of Toronto. Sandra began her career as a ballet ...

30. Kristian Alfonso

Actress | Days of Our Lives

Kristian Alfonso was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, USA. Kristian is an actor, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Joshua Tree (1993) and Friends (1994). Kristian has been married to Danny Daggenhurst since October 6, 2001. They have one child. Kristian was previously married to Simon Macauley.

31. America Ferrera

Actress | Barbie

America Georgine Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Betty Suarez on the American Broadcasting Company's comedy-drama television series Ugly Betty (2006) . Her acting garnered critical acclaim, and she won the Golden Globe Award for Best ...

32. Debra Messing

Actress | Will & Grace

Debra Messing was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the daughter of Jewish American parents, Sandra (née Simons), who has worked as a professional singer, banker, travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a jewelry manufacturer. When Messing was three, she ...

33. Esmé Bianco

Actress | Game of Thrones

British-born Esmé Bianco is an internationally-acclaimed actress and performer, best-known for her role as "Ros" in the Emmy Award-winning show, Game of Thrones (2011).

Degree-educated in Drama and Theatre Arts at London's Goldsmiths University; Bianco's acting career started with performances in ...

34. Elizabeth Mitchell

Actress | The Purge: Election Year

Elizabeth Mitchell was born in Los Angeles in 1970. Shortly after her birth, her parents moved to Dallas, Texas. She was graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. Later, she earned a BFA degree in acting from ...

35. Rachel Weisz

Actress | The Constant Gardener

Rachel Hannah Weisz was born on 7 March, 1970, in London, U.K., to Edith Ruth (Teich), a psychoanalyst, and George Weisz, an inventor. Her parents both came to England around 1938. Her father is a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and her mother, from Vienna, was of Italian and Austrian Jewish heritage. ...

36. Tika Sumpter

Actress | Southside with You

Tika Sumpter was born in New York and graduated from Marymount Manhattan College. Sumpter began her career as model, before she landed the role of "Layla Williamson" in ABC's daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968) (2005-2010, 2011).

After she left the soap, Sumpter won a recurring role in the ...

37. Hilary Swank

Actress | Million Dollar Baby

Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and ...

38. Sarah Michelle Gellar

Actress | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Emmy Award-winning Sarah Michelle Gellar was born on April 14, 1977 in New York City, the daughter of Rosellen (Greenfield), who taught at a nursery school, and Arthur Gellar, who worked in the garment industry. She is of Russian Jewish and Hungarian Jewish descent.

Eating in a local restaurant, ...

39. Toni Collette

Actress | The Sixth Sense

Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).

Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three...

40. Jennifer Aniston

Actress | Friends

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her father was Greek, and her mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent. Jennifer spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City...