Proud, fine-boned and just a bit remote, Kristin Scott Thomas jumped to international stardom as the gorgeous-but-doomed lover in 1996 Oscar champ The English Patient (also starring Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews). Her Oscar nomination from that film led to bigger Hollywood roles, including as Robert Redford's co-star in The Horse Whisperer (1998, with Scarlett Johansson) and Harrison Ford's co-star in Random Hearts (1999). British by birth but a long-time resident of France, Scott has since appeared as frequently in French films as in British or American projects. Her other films include Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994, with Hugh Grant), Richard III (1995, starring Ian McKellen), Gosford Park (2001), Petites coupures (2003), Keeping Mum (2005, with Rowan Atkinson) and I've Loved You So Long (2008).

Extra credit: According to a 2008 New York Times profile, Scott Thomas "is distantly related to Robert F. Scott, the great Antarctic explorer"... She was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2005... She married French physician Francois Olivennes in 1991; they separated in 2006. They have three children: Hannah (b. 1988), Joseph (b. 1991) and Georges (b. 2000).