25. Kirsten Dunst

24. Reese Witherspoon

(Last year: Uncharted)
Hollywood's newest golden girl nabbed an Oscar for her performance as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, and later in the year weathered a much-publicized break-up with husband Ryan Phillippe.

23. Bruce Willis

22. Daniel Radcliffe

(Last year: #18)
No Harry Potter movie this year, but tons of publicity for the fast-growing (and growing fast) star, who appeared on the London stage in Equus and in the Order of the Phoenix trailer.

21. Heath Ledger

(Last year: Uncharted)
The Aussie actor finally found his breakthrough with a phenomenal performance in Brokeback Mountain, and an Oscar nomination and official A-list status quickly followed.

20. Tom Hanks

(Last year: #24)
His controversial casting (and dubious hairstyle) in The Da Vinci Code did nothing to keep the adaptation of the bestselling novel from becoming one of the year's biggest hits.

19. Zac Efron

(Last year: Uncharted)
Who's this young pup, you may wonder? Ask anyone under 21 and they'll tell you he's the star of the runaway TV hit High School Musical, which also spawned a #1 soundtrack.

18. Orlando Bloom

(Last year: #11)
The bloom was a bit off for fair Orlando this year, who had to live down last year's flops as well as take a backseat to Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley in Dead Man's Chest.

17. Jake Gyllenhaal

(Last year: Uncharted)
With his dreamy good looks and easygoing manner, the Brokeback Mountain star melted steely hearts and normally rational minds, scoring an Oscar nomination in the process.

16. Emma Watson

(Last year: #15)
Her only major screen appearance this year was in the trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but that didn't stop fans from clamoring for more of this fetching lass.

15. Hilary Duff

(Last year: #10)
Little Lizzie Maguire finally grew up this year, and while Material Girls was a major flop, her transformation to young woman was chronicled endlessly by the paparazzi.

14. Kate Beckinsale

(Last year: Uncharted)
A return to form as the formidable Selene of Underworld: Evolution and Adam Sandler's wife in summer hit Click put the still-lovely Kate back on the Hollywood map.

13. Christian Bale

(Last year: #14)
The Batman Begins star reteamed with director Christopher Nolan for the period drama The Prestige, and the results were once again pure cinematic magic.

Date of birth (location) 7 October 1976 London, Ontario, Canada   Sometimes Credited As: Rachel MacAdams

12. Rachel McAdams

(Last year: #17)
How many movies did Ms. McAdams appear in during 2006? None. She did, however, generate headlines by dropping out of an all-nude Vanity Fair cover shoot. Sadly, our loss.

Date of birth (location) 11 February 1969 Sherman Oaks, California, USA   Sometimes Credited As: Jennifer Aniston Arquette / Jennifer Aniston Pitt

11. Jennifer Aniston

(Last year: #12)
Indie ensemble flick Friends with Money gave way to surprise comedy hit The Break-Up, which paired her with Vince Vaughn both on and offscreen, and prophetically lived up to its name.

Date of birth (location) 9 June 1981 Jerusalem, Israel

10. Natalie Portman

(Last year: #9)
Her shaved head in V for Vendetta proved sexy, breathtaking, and captivating, and a hilarious Saturday Night Live digital short showed she could rap with the best of them.

Date of birth (location) 17 February 1981 New York City, New York, USA

9. Paris Hilton

(Last year: #5)
We are not making an understatement when we say we've seen way too much of the reality TV star but still, tabloids and photographers followed wherever she went.

Date of birth (location) 3 July 1962 Syracuse, New York, USA Mini biography In 1976, if you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas...

8. Tom Cruise

(Last year: #7)
A wedding (to Katie Holmes), a break-up (with Paramount), a disappointment (Mission: Impossible III), and a new job (as head of United Artists) marked the actor's very busy year.

Date of birth (location) 2 July 1986 New York City, New York, USA Sometimes Credited As: Lindsay Morgan Lohan

7. Lindsay Lohan

(Last year: #4)
Three movies (Bobby, A Prairie Home Companion, Just My Luck) + infinite press coverage / endless partying = a young actress working hard to hold it all together.

Date of birth (location) 26 March 1985 Teddington, Middlesex, England, UK Mini biography Keira Christina Knightley was born in the South London suburb of Richmond...  Sometimes Credited As: Kiera Knightley

6. Keira Knightley

(Last year: #8)
She scored a surprise Oscar nomination for Pride & Prejudice and more than held her own against Johnny Depp in the overloaded Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.

Date of birth (location) 22 November 1984 New York, New York, USA Sometimes Credited As: Scarlett Johanssen

5. Scarlett Johansson

(Last year: #13)
It was more, more, more for the young starlet, who did comedy in Scoop, thrills in The Prestige, film noir in The Black Dahlia, and was Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive.

Date of birth (location) 18 December 1963 Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA

4. Brad Pitt

(Last year: #3)
The hunky actor offically went public with Angelina, became a dad three times over (one birth, two adoptions), and scored a Golden Globe nomination for indie fave Babel.

Date of birth (location) 28 April 1981 Pomona, California, USA Sometimes Credited As: Jessica Marie Alba

3. Jessica Alba

Date of birth (location) 4 June 1975 Los Angeles, California, USA   Sometimes Credited As: Angelina Jolie Voight

2. Angelina Jolie

(Last year: #2)
She confirmed her new coupledom, gave birth, continued her charity work, appeared in The Good Shepherd, started filming A Mighty Heart... does this woman ever slow down?!

Date of birth (location) 9 June 1963 Owensboro, Kentucky, USA Mini biography Johnny Depp is perhaps one of the most versatile actors of his day and... Sometimes Credited As: Oprah Noodlemantra

1. Johnny Depp

(Last year: #1)
Yes, Mr. Depp is now the IMDb's favorite three years in a row, as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest became the year's top movie -- in just ten days; it's also number six on the all-time box office chart. Next year's sequel, At World's End, should keep Depp-heads happy for a long while as well. However, we're most excited about his latest Tim Burton project, the long-awaited adaptation of musical Sweeney Todd, currently set for a December 2007 release.