Julia Stiles in the moon-faced, precocious young actress known for starring in a spate of teen romance flicks in the late '90s. She'd now like to be considered a serious actor, thank you very much.

Stiles grew up in SoHo, studied modern dance as a kid, and at the age of 11 made her debut with the experimental La MaMa theatre after she boldly wrote a letter to the manager asking to be in his play. Stiles followed up with a breakout role as Harrison Ford's daughter in The Devil's Own, then became a bona fide teen star in 1999 with the Shakespeare-inspired high school rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You. She entered the 200's with a bang, starring in a handful of self-important flicks aimed squarely at fourteen year old girls: Down to You, Save the Last Dance, and Mona Lisa Smile. She later branched out into action and horror with parts in the Bourne Identity series, The Omen, and Showtime's Dexter. Of course, her bid for legitimacy wouldn't be complete without a bit of theater tossed in for good measure: Stiles appeared in stage productions of Twelfth Night and Oleanna, and earned critical praise in the process. In between her movie roles she managed to graduate from Columbia, too.

The formerly vegan Stiles is apparently averse to dating anyone who doesn't share her first initial-she's been linked with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor Joshua Jackson, and musician John Mays, but after an alleged affair with Dexter co-star Michael C. Hall, she's has recently bucked the trend with actor David Harbour. [Image via Getty]