Born: March 28, 1981 With a number of high-profile projects, a variety of magazine covers, and a spot on Teen People's 21 Hottest Stars Under 21 list in 1999 under her belt, actress Julia Stiles has come a remarkably long way in a very short time. Born March 28, 1981, in New York City, Stiles was interested in performing from a very young age. When she was eleven years old, she wrote a letter to a Manhattan theater director asking to be cast in a production and was soon acting on-stage in avant-garde plays at both the La Mama and Kitchen Theaters. In 1996, Stiles made her film debut with a small part in I_Love_You,_I_Love_You_Not and the following year had her television debut in the Oprah_Winfrey_Presents:_Before_Women_Had_Wings, in which she played an abused child. The same year, she made a brief appearance as Harrison_Ford's daughter in The_Devil's_Own and followed with roles in two 1998 films, Wide_Awake and the Sundance entry Wicked. The year 1999 proved to be Stiles' breakthrough year, as she played a prominent part in the television miniseries The_'60s and the lead role in 10_Things_I_Hate_About_You, the latest film to mine gold and produce endorsements out of William Shakespeare. The film was a hit, and Stiles was soon being heralded as one of the hottest, young actors of her generation. With her name attached to a number of future projects, it seemed that Stiles would indeed have success in living up to this label.Sure enough, Stiles was almost immediately cast in two modernized-for-MTV-generation Shakespeare flicks, namely director Michael_Almereyda's Hamlet (2000) with Ethan_Hawke and O, a teen-oriented adaptation of +Othello starring Josh_Hartnett and Mekhi_Phifer. As classic literature once again fell in place behind predictable romantic comedies, Stiles could be found playing the romantic lead in Down to You with teen movie veteran Freddie_Prinze_Jr., and alongside Sean_Patrick_Thomas in Save the Last Dance, which featured Stiles in the role of a grieving ballet dancer who attends an inner-city school and eventually finds love within a primarily black high school. Though the film was not a critical success, Save the Last Dance (2001) and 10_Things_I_Hate_About_You nonetheless helped construct Stiles a respectable fan base, and the young actress -- now with a Saturday_Night_Live credit under her belt -- would continue to build her resum?hroughout the early 2000s. In the film adaptation of novelist Robert_Ludlum's -The Bourne Identity, Stiles had the chance to participate in a film starring Hollywood golden boy Matt_Damon and returned to the role in 2004's The_Bourne_Supremacy. Stiles was praised for holding her own against Stockard_Channing in The Business of Strangers (2001), which was shown at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and fared decently in A_Guy_Thing, a romantic comedy-of-errors co-starring Jason_Lee and Stiles' fellow Down to You alumna Selma_Blair. In 2003, Stiles would play opposite the Oscar-winning Julia_Roberts in Mona_Lisa_Smile, which finds Stiles playing a conservative '50s college student whose beliefs undergo some serious scrutiny after coming in contact with an uncharacteristically progressive teacher (Roberts). The year 2004 promised more teen-styled roles; Stiles played the eccentric title character in Carolina under the direction of Dutch filmmaker Marleen_Gorris and worked with director Martha_Coolidge and 28_Days_Later's Luke_Mably in The Prince & Me. A key role in opposite William H. Macy in director Stuard Gordon's critically lauded but little seen David Mamet adaptation Edmond served well to remind audiences of Stiles acting abilities, and the following year the wholesome-looking beauty would serve as mother to the ultimate evil in the high profile horror remake The Omen.Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi