Alison Eastwood

With the iconic last name of Eastwood, great expectations abounded for the daughter of a Hollywood legend. Like her famous father, actor-writer-director and former politician Clint Eastwood, Alison Eastwood aimed to deliver the family-honed tradition of excelling as a triple threat.

Inspired to perform at an early age, she appeared with her father in the 1984 thriller "Tightrope," before moving on to tackle numerous other movie roles including in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1997).

Although most recognized for appearing with her father in the crime thriller "Absolute Power" (1997), she made notable performances in "Breakfast of Champions" (1999) and "Poolhall Junkies" (2002).

Often referred to as a modern-day Jean Harlow, complete with curves and a come-hither gaze, Alison Eastwood could have coasted on her beauty and her lineage all the way to the bank, but instead the actress continuously strove to better herself, including a stint modeling in Paris, directing films, and creating a fashion line and a production company - all successful efforts that put to rest any accusations of nepotism-based success without basis.

Born May 22, 1972 in Carmel, CA - the city her father would one day famously serve as mayor - Alison Eastwood was allegedly conceived during the production of "Dirty Harry" (1971), the offspring of legendary movie star and director, Clint Eastwood, and swimsuit model, Maggie Johnson.

Eastwood started early in the family business, making her film debut in 1980 in the comedy action adventure "Bronco Billy," which was directed by her prolific father.

Her early schooling consisted of Santa Catalina School in Monterey and Pebble Beach's Stevenson School. When she was 11, her father secured her a substantial role as his daughter in one of his movies, the crime thriller "Tightrope" (1984).

At age 18, she headed off to study acting at Santa Barbara City College, from which she would eventually drop out, knowing she wanted to pursue her craft professionally immediately.

By the age of 22, along with making her theater debut in the Coast Playhouse production of "Woman in Control" followed by "It's a Beautiful Life," she allegedly kicked a drug and alcohol addiction as well.

By this time, the stunning beauty had also already graced the catwalks of Paris as a model and had posed for several European fashion magazines and the American version of Vogue.

In 1997, her exposure as an actress was given a huge boost when she once again appeared alongside her father, this time in the crime thriller "Absolute Power."

She gained further recognition in subsequent significant films including the crime drama which her father helmed, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (1997), for which she reportedly had to audition several times.

After that, she branched out on her own, acting in the low-budget "Just a Little Harmless Sex" (1998), in Glenn Freyer's indie "Suicide: The Comedy" (1998), as well as in "Friends & Lovers" (1999), "Breakfast of Champions" (1999), and "Black and White" (1999).

Participating in the talk-show circuit in 1999 on such shows as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC, 1993-2009) and E! Entertainment Television's "Howard Stern" (1994-2007) further helped to increase Eastwood's exposure.

Subsequently, the new millennium brought with it more films for the burgeoning starlet, including a leading role in the NBC sci-fi drama "The Spring" (2000), and the romantic comedy film "If You Only Knew" (2000).

However, it was her appearance as a pool shark's girlfriend in the small but highly acclaimed movie "Poolhall Junkies" (2002) that placed her solidly in the Hollywood limelight and drew positive attention from audiences and the industry alike.

She went on to be cast in numerous movies including "The Bend" (2002), "The Storyteller" (2003) and "Power Play" (2003).

However, it was her posing nude for Playboy magazine with the caption "Wanna get lucky?" that created the most buzz for Eastwood in 2003.

Throughout the mid- to late-2000s, she continued to be seen in a slew of films, including a starring role in Global Television Network's mystery crime drama "I'll Be Seeing You" (2004) and in the sci-fi thriller "They Are Among Us" (2004).

Eastwood appeared in the movies "Flatbush" (2005) and "The Lost Angel" (2005) before spreading her wings to become an associate producer for the drama "Don't Tell" (2005).

In another TV movie, "Lesser Evil" (Lifetime TV, 2006), she played the lead role as Karen Max before playing yet another Karen that year in the romantic comedy "How to Go Out on a Date in Queens" (2006).

She made her directorial debut with the drama "Rails & Ties" in 2007. Prior to helming the movie, she reportedly studied her father's processes as a director on the set of his film at the time, the acclaimed historical war drama, "Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006).

A true collaboration, "Rails & Ties" was released by Clint Eastwood's in-resident studio, Warner Bros., and produced by Robert Lorenz, who shared an Academy Award with her father for "Letters from Iwo Jima" (along with Steven Spielberg).

Moreover, a slew of other "Rails & Ties" staff members worked on some of her father's most recognized and acclaimed movies such as "Mystic River" (2003), "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006), as well as "Letters from Iwo Jima."

Alison Eastwood struck out in an entirely different direction in 2007 with the creation of a successful sportswear and denim clothing line, which, with the exception of its obvious famous name - Eastwood Ranch - was her own baby.

By this time, she had also created her own company, Purple Rose Productions, which released several small but commendable films.

Eastwood continued to garner acting credits into the next decade, starting with a small role the Ed Harris vehicle titled "Once Fallen" (2010), a crime drama also starring Brian Presley and Taraji P. Henson.

She followed up with a starring performance in Michael Bernard's film "Henry" (2011), and was cast as Sophie Lacombe in "Shadow People" (2012), and well as a narrator alongside a multi-star cast in "Unity" (2012).

Seemingly always eager to flex her show business muscles, Alison Eastwood became a producer as well as director for the drama "Battlecreek" (2012), the story about a gifted young painter who suffers from a rare skin disorder that forces him to live his life primarily in the evening hours.

By Ela Lindsay