Breakout teen stars
Zac Efron
Zac Efron, best known as Mr. High School Musical, has not been released yet from his teen star vehicle -- but word is that his stint playing Link Larkin in the celebrity-studded remake of Hairspray has convinced Efron that hes ready for the big leagues. (Jae C. Hong / AP)
Hilary Swank
After a two-year stint on Beverly Hills 90210, Hilary Swank broke free of the teen-show curse and landed her Oscar-winning role in Boys Dont Cry. Since then she has taken on a mix of Oscar-nominated fare (Million Dollar Baby, for which she won her second Oscar) and shlock (The Reaping). (Mario Guzman / EPA)
Sally Field
Before we really, really liked her and showered her with Oscars, we thought Sally Field was the spunkiest surfer girl in the West for starring as TVs Gidget throughout the mid-1960s. (Mark Mainz / Getty Images)
Katie Holmes
As Mrs. Cruise, Katie Holmes is in a league (headspace? nightmare?) all her own, but there was a time, after Dawsons Creek and before Toms romantic proposal in Paris, when it seemed Holmes was poised for a respectable film career. She had a small but memorable role in the critically acclaimed Wonder Boys, starred as a troubled young New Yorker in Pieces of April and played the love interest in Batman Begins. (Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images)
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher warmed up for Punkd and Demi Moore as the dopey but adorable Michael Kelso in That 70s Show. Now hes a one-man goldmine who stars in family friendly fare like Cheaper By the Dozen while creating an empire based on hidden-camera shows. (The Real Wedding Crashers?thats his.) (Chris Pizzello / AP)
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt left the safe, but slightly dreary clutches of her orphaned family in Party of Five for a brief film career as a slasher target in I Know What You Did Last Summer and opposite Jackie Chan in the ill-conceived The Tuxedo before returning to the little screen as the star of The Ghost Whisperer. (Charley Gallay / Getty Images)
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar, wasnt the first Buffy but starring in the TV version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was apparently the path to big-screen fame. The starlet first appeared to the world as the wooden stake-clutching cheerleader in the cult favorite high school adventure series. Now shes a horror movie staple. (Ric Francis / AP)
Peggy Lipton
The Mod Squad star Peggy Lipton broke free from her undercover high school detective work to become a fashion and pop icon of the 60s. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
