Michelle Williams

A collector of rare books, Michelle Williams made her appearance in the world Sept. 9, 1980, in Kalispell, Mont. When she was 10, her family moved to San Diego, where she began her acting career in community theater. Two years later, she was commuting to Tinseltown for auditions.

Williams splashed onto the big screen for the first time in 1994's Lassie. She also started landing roles on television shows such as "Step by Step" and "Home Improvement." In 1995, she played a memorable part in Species and continued in the horror vein with Halloween: H20 in 1998. Next up was the mordant comedy Dick (1999), followed by her breakthrough role on the TV series "Dawson's Creek."

Among the star's other notable films are A Thousand Acres (1997), Prozac Nation (2001) and Brokeback Mountain (2005), which netted Williams an Oscar nomination. Her work in 2010's Blue Valentine earned her Independent Spirit, Golden Globe and Academy Award nods.

Filmography