Kate Bosworth

With her Barbie doll good looks and frequent casting as the fresh-faced girl next door, it would have been easy to write off actress Kate Bosworth as just another Hollywood ingénue, if not for her refusal to be pigeon-holed by the limitations of audience expectations. At the age of 14, and with almost no acting experience, Bosworth auditioned on a whim for a role in Robert Redford's "The Horse Whisperer" (1998). When she was cast in a small but important role, offers for more film and television work soon followed. However, the level-headed teen chose to first finish high school before embarking on a serious acting career.

By her late teens, Bosworth began appearing in films like the Denzel Washington inspirational football drama "Remember the Titans" (2000), before making a splash in the surfer romance "Blue Crush" (2002). She went on to alternate between grittier projects like "Wonderland" (2003) and comedic fluff such as "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" (2004). However, when she beat out dozens of other actresses for the coveted role of Lois Lane in Bryan Singer's audacious comic book reboot "Superman Returns" (2006), Bosworth found her work scrutinized by critics and fans more closely than ever before. As the decade came to a close, Bosworth continued to diversify her professional portfolio, making herself one of the more in-demand actresses and one of the few screen beauties to be taken seriously by both the industry and her legion of fans.

Born Catherine Ann Bosworth on Jan. 2, 1983 in Los Angeles to parents Hal and Patti Bosworth, Kate and family soon moved to San Francisco followed by a diversion to Connecticut before settling in Cohasset, MA in 1997. Although she had little acting experience beyond a part in a community theater production of the musical "Annie," it was Bosworth's background as an equestrian champion - combined with her mother's lingering connections in the film industry - that led her to audition for a small role in director Robert Redford's romantic drama "The Horse Whisperer" (1998).

Redford, who also starred in the film opposite Kristin Scott Thomas, was sufficiently intrigued to cast the teenage Bosworth in the small but pivotal role of Judith, a young girl whose fatal accident early in the film serves as the impetus for the events to come. As much as she enjoyed the experience and looked forward to more acting work, Bosworth wisely took time of to finish high school - as a member of the National Honor Society, no less - before pursuing her career full time. After graduation, Bosworth landed a co-starring role as the sister of a younger brother plagued by a bully in the direct-to-video feature, "The Newcomers" (2000).

She next signed on as a regular on the short-lived primetime teen soap "Young Americans" (The WB, 1999-2000), portraying Bella Banks, a local girl working in a small town occupied by a prestigious boarding academy, who becomes the object of desire for one of the school's more privileged students. The series would only last eight episodes before cancellation, freeing up Bosworth to pursue more theatrical work.

That same year, Bosworth landed a small role in the fact-based football drama "Remember the Titans" (2000), starring Denzel Washington as an African-American coach in the early 1970s hired to transform a newly racially integrated high school team into a cohesive athletic unit. After moving to Los Angeles in order to facilitate her auditions, Bosworth was rewarded with the lead in her breakout film, "Blue Crush" (2002). As Anne Marie, a devout surfer living in Hawaii with her two best friends, Bosworth displayed exceptional commitment to the role by adding pounds of muscle and training relentlessly in preparation for the film.

Although the movie's plot took a backseat to the exotic local and intense surfing footage, Bosworth nonetheless managed to shine through as a talent to watch. Later that year, she began dating British actor Orlando Bloom who was then riding high as a cast member of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The couple reportedly met outside a coffee shop before being reintroduced at the premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Inseparable for the next three years, the popular tabloid target separated in 2006.

Later that year, Bosworth joined an ensemble cast of former television heartthrobs in "The Rules of Attraction" (2002), based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel following the sexual proclivities of a group of over-privileged college students in the late 1980s. Bosworth next took a chance when she broke away from her girl-next-door image in the dark and gritty Alex Cox directed "Wonderland" (2003).

Based on actual events, Bosworth played the underage girlfriend of 1970s porn legend John Holmes (Val Kilmer) caught up in the events surrounding the brutal murders of several of Holmes' drug dealing associates in a Laurel Canyon apartment. Bosworth was fearless in her portrayal of Dawn Schiller, a young girl completely overwhelmed by drugs, sex and Holmes' domineering personality, all of which earned her newfound respect from film critics.

The young starlet moved on to decidedly lighter material with "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" (2004), cast as a small town girl who meets her screen idol (Josh Duhamel) after entering a contest. The light romantic comedy was a safe bet for Bosworth, but did little to further demonstrate her range or attract moviegoers. Bosworth continued to trade on her All-American girl image when she was cast as actress Sandra Dee in "Beyond the Sea" (2004), the Bobby Darin biopic starring and directed by Kevin Spacey.

While playing the squeaky clean Dee may have seemed like perfect casting for Bosworth, Spacey's vanity project gave her little to work with as Darin's loyal wife, not to mention the fact that the 24-year age gap between the leads made many viewers squeamish during their love scenes. A smaller part as a beautiful Hare Krishna in the intellectual family drama "Bee Season" (2005) followed before Bosworth was to take on an iconic role in the most high-profile project of her young career.

After an exhaustive casting search and innumerable screen tests, Bosworth was finally cast as intrepid reporter Lois Lane in director Bryan Singer's big-budget re-launch of the beloved superhero franchise, "Superman Returns" (2006). A rumored factor in her being cast was Spacey - who played Superman's arch villain Lex Luthor - putting in a good word for her to Singer, having been suitably impressed with her skills during "Beyond the Sea."

Starring newcomer Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel, the epic tale picked up with Superman coming back to earth after a lengthy absence only to discover his unrequited love (Lois) has moved on with her life. Although the film did reasonably well at the box office, it met with mixed reviews from critics, many of whom felt Bosworth lacked the maturity and gravitas to play the irrepressible newspaperwoman.

Bosworth pushed herself outside her comfort zone with the indie drama "The Girl in the Park" (2007) as Louise, a disturbed girl befriended by Sigourney Weaver's Julia, an emotionally scarred woman who comes to believe Louise may be her long-lost daughter. For her next project, Bosworth went all in as a member of a group of M.I.T. students who use a complex card-counting system to regularly clean up at Las Vegas' black jack tables in "21"(2008).

Based on a true story, the film once again paired her with her friend and admirer Spacey and despite mixed reviews, managed to cash in at the box office. After a two-year absence from the screen, Bosworth resurfaced in the long-delayed Cowboy-Ninja hybrid "The Warrior's Way" (2010), co-starring Geoffrey Rush and martial arts action star Jang Dong Gun.