First Ladies: Hollywood's New A-List

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

AGE 26

WHY SHE'S A-LIST After turning 2001's ''Legally Blonde'' into a sleeper hit, Witherspoon proved her bankability last fall with the $125 million gross of ''Sweet Home Alabama.'' Her salary jumped accordingly, from a reported $1 million for ''Legally Blonde'' to $15 million for its '03 sequel. Plus, she retains indie and critical cred from her role as high school overachiever Tracy Flick in 1999's ''Election.'' No wonder that, for Entertainment Weekly's 2001 If We Ran Hollywood issue, the magazine put her on the cover with the headline ''Why We'd Hire Reese Witherspoon for Everything.''

WHAT'S NEXT As Elle Woods, Witherspoon takes on Washington, D.C., in ''Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,'' opening July 2.




AGE 35

WHY SHE'S A-LIST It all started in 2001, when Kidman proved her versatility with the one-two punch of ''Moulin Rouge'' (helping to save the movie musical from extinction) and cerebral horror hit ''The Others'' (which grossed $96 million). As a result, she earned herself a raise to the $12 million-$15 million territory and became EW's Entertainer of the Year. Currently, she's wowing critics and earning strong Oscar buzz for disappearing completely into the role of Virginia Woolf in ''The Hours.''

WHAT'S NEXT As the new queen of literary adaptations, Kidman will be in the film versions of Charles Frazier's ''Cold Mountain'' (Christmas 2003) and Philip Roth's ''The Human Stain.'' In addition, she'll appear in Lars von Trier's oddball drama ''Dogville,'' due this fall, and she'll flex her comedic muscles in new versions of ''The Stepford Wives'' and ''Bewitched.''




AGE 35

WHY SHE'S A-LIST The first female member of Hollywood's $20 million club, she has remained the town's highest-paid actress for years, having starred in more $100 million movies (seven) than any other actress. In 2000, she proved she was more than just another pretty woman with her ''Erin Brockovich'' Oscar. Recently, she shifted gears again, earning raves as a sexy spy in ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.'' She's also moved into film and TV production (her 1998 movie ''Stepmom,'' CBS' new series ''Queens Supreme''). Plus, she's a newlywed. No wonder she loves her life.

WHAT'S NEXT She plays a freespirited instructor at a women's college in ''Mona Lisa Smile,'' which she also produced. It's set for a Nov. 21 release.




AGE 34

WHY SHE'S A-LIST Berry bookended 2002 with monumental achievements: To begin with, she won a historic Best Actress Oscar for ''Monster's Ball,'' and to close it out, she goosed the 007 franchise back to life (to the tune of $146 million and counting) in ''Die Another Day.'' Her Jinx may become the first Bond babe to have her own spinoff; in fact, Bond studio MGM is banking on Berry with about four upcoming movies. Her asking price, reportedly in the $5 million-$10 million range, makes her the highest-paid African-American actress in the business.

WHAT'S NEXT She'll swoop into the multiplex as Storm in ''X-Men 2'' on May 2. Currently in production is a remake of boxing drama ''The Set-Up'' with Benjamin Bratt. In March, she'll shoot the horror thriller ''Gothika'' with Penélope Cruz. After that, of the seven or eight other projects she has in the works, she's likely to shoot either the drama ''Need,'' the potential mystery franchise launcher ''The Guide,'' or a remake of ''Foxy Brown.'' And, occasionally, she'll stop to eat and sleep.




AGE 33

WHY SHE'S A-LIST Multitalented Jennifer Lopez has a knack for releasing hit albums and hit movies at the same time, as she's done most recently with her CD ''This Is Me...Then'' and her current movie ''Maid in Manhattan,'' her biggest hit yet, grossing $78 million and counting. She's been the highest-paid Latina actress since her $1 million payday for 1997's ''Selena''; she now commands a reported $12 million per picture. Plus, fascination with her marital status is on an Elizabeth Taylor level, which should help her next two releases, both of which costar fiancé Ben Affleck.

WHAT'S NEXT The action comedy ''Gigli'' is due out Aug. 1, with the romance ''Jersey Girl'' to follow.

[Rhiannon]

of those, Julia Roberts is by far my most favorite

[AnaheimPMWitch]

For me its a Tie between Nicole and Julia
but WHYYYYY isnt Sandy on that List?????

[Rhiannon]

Originally posted by CaitlinMoore2002
For me its a Tie between Nicole and Julia
but WHYYYYY isnt Sandy on that List?????

I was thinking the same thing!!

[Bootsy Whoosh]

Funny. I heard Hollywood's First Ladies and immediately thought of both Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman. I knew Julia would be there but she's never done much for me.

Keep your eye on Reese though. She's Oscar bound one day, I'd almost guarantee it. I'll put my money on it at least. And Kidman may nab one very soon, though I think she'll be hurt by the fact that all 3 performances in The Hours were so good.

[AnaheimPMWitch]

Originally posted by Starfish22



I was thinking the same thing!!

well You know Great Minds think alike and yeah Sandys Cool

[*ShortCake*]

nicole is better!! OH yeah.. that is an awesome picture of her!! I saved it on my comp

[Rhiannon]

Originally posted by *ShortCake*
nicole is better!! OH yeah.. that is an awesome picture of her!! I saved it on my comp

if it were my list they'd both be on there

[LucyCompanyPhan]

yeah watch out for Reese, she is gonna be big.

im actually surprised that Jennifer Aniston wasnt on the list. I guess its because her movies aren't totally A list-but i'd look out for her, shes being a supporting Actor in Bruce Almighty & a movie with Ben Stiller, so i bet she'll go up more than down.

[°Bubbly Blonde°]

I love Halle Berry she's so pretty!!!!! Nicole is pretty too....Reese would be if it wasnt for her longish chin, but I love Legally Blone!!!!!! That could be my move anthem if there is such a thing....Julia Roberts is really cool....and j. lo....well, we all kno how i feel about her

[Halex]

I like that list. Except for Julia Roberts. I don't know. For some reason she just seems "too pretty" to me. It's unnatural. I'm glad Reese was on that list. She's cool. I liked her new film Sweet Home Alabama. Anyone else see it?

[-*Forever*-]

But but but what about :

[jekouptown]

one word.


LEGALLY BLONDE 2.