tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

Not only are they capable of lighting up the silver screen, they are also some of today's most talented young actresses, commanding huge fees - in some cases, in the millions. Many have won multiple awards, while others have starred in some of today's biggest box office hits. In short, we're listing down the cream of the crop!

Just like our recent Top 50 hottest young actors, we've narrowed down our list from 88 to 50, and set an age limit. If you miss seeing some of your favorites, so do we - including Maggie Gyllenhaal (31 years old) and Amy Adams (34 years old). Definitely some of the names you'll see on the list are emerging talents - the ones you will see getting the big roles in the near future - and some of them already have, with awards and nominations to boot.

Here's the updated Top 40 list! You'll definitely notice the international flavor!

# 40 - Ivana Baquero - She plays the young Ofelia, from Guillermo del Toro's unforgettable Pan's Labyrinth. It was this movie that catapulted Ivana Baquero into becoming an international celebrity. She then played the strong-willed daughter of Maria Valverde in the official Sundance entry, The Anarchist's Wife.

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Ivana will soon be seen alongside Kevin Costner and Samantha Mathis in new horror-thriller The New Daughter, from Spanish filmmaker Luis Berdejo, soon to be shown in theaters this year. Comments Marcy Dermansky on her performance as the young Ofelia:

Not many major movies star bookish, little girls. Period. Guillermo del Toro earned my respect and admiration straight away for creating the character of Ofelia, in a remarkable performance by eleven-year-old Ivana Baquero. The movie starts: Ofelia is in the back seat of an expensive car with her very pregnant mother, whisked off into the countryside where Ofelia's new stepfather, a Fascist captain, wages war against a band of resistance fighters at the tail end of the Spanish Civil War. The real world is a grim and scary place; the fairy tale land where Ofelia seeks solace is not much friendlier. [ read more ]

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# 39 - Camilla Belle - She played alongside Jamie Bell and Justin Chatwin in the less well-known but absolutely awesome movie The Chumscrubber. She is also known for her lead role in the 2006 remake of When a Stranger Calls, the 2008 film 10,000 BC, and the 2000 Disney Channel film Rip Girls. She's Camilla Belle.

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Working with someone like Daniel Day-Lewis, you’re challenging your creative self and seeing how far you can push yourself. Then working opposite pieces of tape is something that pushes you in a completely different way – you can feel so silly. You just want to stand back and laugh at yourself, but you keep on going. At least all of us are in it together.

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# 38 - Karoline Herfurth - She's Jean Baptiste Grenouile's (played by Ben Whishaw) first victim in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the young and beautiful girl selling plums in 18th century Paris. She also played Marthe in the acclaimed Stephen Daldry film, The Reader.

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Regarded by Ed Meza as one of the 6 hot young German talent, from his list at Variety:

Her role as the redheaded beauty whose scent drives a troubled young man batty with murderous desire in Tom Tykwer's 2006 period thriller "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" catapulted Karoline Herfurth to fame.

Up until then she was known mainly for her role in Constantin Film's teen comedy franchise "Maedchen Maedchen," which followed her debut in Hans-Christian Schmid's 2000 coming-of-age drama "Crazy." Since "Perfume," she has appeared in seven feature films and TV productions, including Marc Rothemund's 1960s-set laffer "Pornorama," Stephen Daldry's "The Reader" and Caroline Link's "A Year Ago in Winter," for which she also made the Lola shortlist for best actress.

Next up she stars in Kaspar Heidelbach's "Berlin 1936," about Jewish-German high-jump champion Gretel Bergmann.

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# 36 - Rachel Hurd-Wood - She plays the red-headed virgin in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the last victim of perfumer Jean Baptiste Grenouile (played by Ben Whishaw). But before that, the talented and sexy British actress was another victim this time in An American Haunting, a film inspired by a true story and cast Rachel Hurd-Wood as Betsy, a young girl who is pursued by an evil spirit. While the film was scary, the making of the picture was fun, as Rachel Hurd-Wood gained valuable insights about acting from her two costars and likened the experience to attending film school.

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Says the actress:

I've been a victim in every film I have done so far. It would be nice to play someone who doesn't get killed for once. Then again, I am getting really good at screaming and fake tears...

Since then, Rachel Hurd-Wood has continued her acting exploits into 2008 and beyond with a pair of recent films. The first is Solomon Kane, a story about a swordsman who finds redemption, battling sorcerers and ghouls along the way. The second is the 2009 film Dorian Gray, which is based on the 1890 Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The film is a star-studded affair that features notable British thespians Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin and rising star Rebecca Hall.

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# 35 - Georgia Groome - You might be familiar with Ms. Groome from the movie, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, acting alongside the soon-to-be young John Lennon, Aaron Johnson or perhaps in the horror-suspense movie, The Disappeared, shown just recently. But Georgia Groome already made such an amazing performance in the acclaimed British indie film, London to Brighton, which won the Jury Prize at the 2006 Raindance Film Festival. Some critics in the UK even considered the film to be one of the best...

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Says the BBC:

At last - after years in the Mockney doldrums, the British crime flick gets a double-barrelled shot in the arm. London To Brighton is a brutal and brilliantly assured debut from writer/director Paul Andrew Williams. And he's not the only new name to watch - there are terrific turns from unknowns Lorraine Stanley and Georgia Groome, respectively playing a hooker and a teenage runaway in flight from some very unsavoury characters. World-beatingly grim, it'll put you through the wringer, but you won't regret the journey.

Her role in Angus might have put the spotlight on the young actress, thus issues on looks and figures are never far-behind. With regards to body image, being a celebrity and acting, this is what she has to say:

I'm really happy with who I am - I don't try to be anything that I'm not and I'm not wrapped up in the whole being somebody for the sake of having your photo taken. I am who I am, and I'm quite happy with that - it's got me this far. I'm just happy being normal. I hate having my photo taken. It's so fake; it's like, ‘What is that?' It's not real in any way. I'll just be who I am. I don't know. I'm not worried; I'm not going to change for anybody. Or maybe I would, I don't know. It's weird because it's not got to that stage yet. I think it's a confidence thing - I'm confident talking, I'm confident doing acting, but not standing and smiling for the cameras.

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# 34 - Emilie de Ravin - This charming and talented young actress from Australia has made the succesful transition from TV (with two famous series, Roswell and Lost) to the big screen, and can boast of an impressive acting resume with movies including Brick, The Hills Have Eyes, and the upcoming Public Enemies.

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But her biggest buzz comes from her team up with Robert Pattinson in the romance-drama, Remember Me. Says the actress on her diverse list of roles:

I'm just trying to explore everything. It's fun to mix it up as much as you can. I don't want to get pigeonholed in any one genre. I like to extend myself as much as I can and challenge myself.

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# 33 - Shareeka Epps - She plays the young but definitely not naive student of Ryan Gosling, the idealistic History teacher (yet suffering from drug addiction), in the critically-acclaimed 2006 film, Half Nelson.

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This review says it all:

Shareeka Epps made her acting debut in Half Nelson. As young Drey, Epps portrays a latch key kid in danger of falling prey to a neighborhood drug dealer. Perhaps even more dangerous to her safety is a burgeoning friendship with her well meaning, drug-abusing history teacher (Ryan Gosling). Epps more than holds her own against Gosling's marvelous performance; she is all-knowing and charmingly naive, all at once. The actress suppresses her smile, but then lets it shine with full, heartbreaking force.

In 2007, she appeared in the Noah Buschel film Neal Cassady, as well as Alien vs. Predator 2. Another upcoming project is Mother and Child, an upcoming drama film directed and written by Rodrigo García. It also stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington.

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# 32 - Nikki Reed - Outspoken on issues she feels strongly about, Nikki Reed is not only an actress but also a screenwriter. Together with filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, Reed wrote the screenplay for the award-winning film entitled Thirteen. Together they finished the script for the semi-biographical film in six days, an incredibly fast time for a Hollywood script to be written in.Producers asked Reed to play a role in the film because they had trouble casting it, considering it an "uncomfortable" role for most young actresses. The film, starring Evan Rachel Wood, was released in 2003 to glowing reviews, giving Reed recognition in Hollywood as both an actress and a screenwriter.

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Scott Lyle Cohen, reviews the film:

Reed's involvement makes Thirteen the grittiest, most honest portrait of teendom since Larry Clark's Kids (1995). She reveals, as only an insider could, the idiom and body language specific to the adolescents who hang out in the parking lots, malls and streets in every town across America. "Most teen movies," says Reed, "are fantasies, like The Princess Diaries [2001]. But my movie is coming from a completely different angle, which is truth. This is what really happens." And as tough as Thirteen is to watch at times, it's impossible to turn away.

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# 31 - Keisha Castle-Hughes -actress, activist, youngest Academy Award best actress nominee, what else can I say about this talented New Zealander?

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Here's more: Keisha Castle-Hughes rose to prominence playing Paikea "Pai" Apirana, in the successful (2002) film Whale Rider. She was cast in the film as "Pai Apirana" at age eleven. Whale Rider not only established Castle-Hughes as a Hollywood actress but the New Zealand film was nominated for many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress of which she was the youngest female nominated in the Best Actress category and an award at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress, which she won in 2004.

Since she made her film debut, Castle-Hughes has appeared in various films including Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008). She also appeared as the main character, playing the role of the Virgin Mary, in the film The Nativity Story in (2006).

Up and Coming: She will again reunite with director Niki Caro for the film adaption of The Vintner's Luck, which is currently in production. She is about to begin shooting the starring role in Mona's Dream, the story of Mona Mahmudnizhad.

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What's on your mind? Oh and yes, there are 30 more names on the list, and if your favorite young actress is not yet here, then perhaps she might be ranked higher or perhaps not at all, so please do tell us who she is and why she ought to be part of the list. Anyway, just fire away!