Claire Forlani

Born: 1st July 1972
Where: Middlesex, England

The former face of L'Oreal has made a name for herself in both action movies (The Rock) and left-field fare (Northfork) after moving to the US to conquer Hollywood

The daughter of an Italian father and British mother, she attended the Arts Educational School in London.

With a couple of theatre credits under her belt, the actress got her showbiz start on British TV in Press Gang and Shrinks.

She also made her feature debut in the thriller Gypsy Eyes, which necessitated an 11-week shoot in Croatia.

In order to make it easier for their daughter to land more roles, the family moved to San Francisco in 1993 and Forlani landed a role in the TV series JFK: Reckless Youth.

Next up was the seventh big screen outing of the Police Academy franchise, 1994's Police Academy: Mission to Moscow.

After a minor role in the 30-minute Showtime feature The Gift, Forlani shone in a supporting role in the cult-favorite Mallrats.

Director Kevin Smith cast her as American suburbanite Brandi Svenning and only discovered that she was British after she was offered the role.

In 1996, Forlani was offered the role of Sean Connery's estranged daughter Jade in the blockbuster hit, The Rock, sharing the screen with Connery and Nicolas Cage.

She also appeared in Basquiat that same year, and followed up with a starring role in the independent film, Garage Sale.

She showed her mettle as far as the critics were concerned in 1997's The Last Time I Committed Suicide (the same year she also walked off the set of Deep Rising).

In 1998, Forlani starred alongside Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black - a role that had her hailed by Vanity Fair as one to watch.

That year she also starred in Basil with Christian Slater, and the romantic comedy Into My Heart, which she followed up with Mystery Men and co-starred with Freddie Prinze Jr in the chick flick Boys and Girls.

In 2001, she was selected as the new face of L'Oreal cosmetics, following on from Jennifer Aniston.

Changing styles, she landed a role in the thriller Anti-Trust, co-starring Ryan Phillippe and Rachael Leigh Cooke, and the comedy Going Greek.

Recent work includes the disappointing part of Jackie Chan's love interest in the lacklustre The Medallion.

Industry rumour has it she is being considered for the part of Lois Lane in the new Superman movie - along with Selma Blair and Drew Barrymore.