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Jessica Alba was born on 28th April 1981 in Pomona, California, USA. She was the daughter of a Mexican-American father and a French-Danish mother. Alba's early life was marked by a series of unfortunate physical maladies. In addition to asthma, Alba twice suffered from collapsed lungs, a burst appendix and had to endure pneumonia several times a year.

Luckily, her health eventually took a dramatically positive turn a few years later; an improvement Alba credited to her growing interest in acting. Signed by an agent by the age of 12, Alba made her screen debut with "Camp Nowhere." Alba went on to appear in two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney, which led to her landing a recurring role as the young snob, Jessica, in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series, "The Secret World of Alex Mack."

She then performed the role of Maya Graham in the first two seasons of the TV series, "Flipper" (also known as "The New Adventures of Flipper"). Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk and was a PADI-certified scuba diver - skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia. As the fresh-faced, enthusiastic and sweet Maya, the part would provide Alba a nice departure from her previous "mean girl" TV efforts.

Alba played Joyce Lakeland, a prostitute and sometime-lover of Affleck's, whom he brutally beats to death on screen. The scene - and a similar one later in the film with Kate Hudson - was so graphic that the film inspired numerous walkouts and angry verbal responses at Sundance, and colored almost every one of the film's mixed reviews. Reports hit the Internet that Alba herself walked out of a screening halfway through, although her rep told the press later that the actress stood by her work and the film, and merely had to catch a flight.

Angelina Jolie is so well known as an iconic sex symbol that she was Hollywood's natural choice for an upcoming 2013 "Cleopatra" remake. Her name is still connected to that project, at least on IMDB, but the "Tourist" star recently remarked during a lunch interview with the Financial Times that she sees more directing and less acting in her crystal ball.

It is obviously something she has discussed with her mate, Brad Pitt, since she includes him in the prognosis, saying they both had a great run and it's now time to look at other endeavors.Pitt has already been actively producing films since 2006, taking a leading role in several of his projects, including his latest, World War Z.

A good omen indeed, but is this a viable career move for the 35-year-old former action star? How many other actresses will ever come close to matching the record of actress and director, Ida Lupino? Lupino was the first female director in Hollywood. Her lengthy directing credits include feature films, including 1953's "The Hitch-Hiker," also the first film noir directed by a woman. She directed episodes of over 30 television series.

She took on the directing challenge in 1991 with "Little Man Tate," also starring in the comedy/drama. Foster's next directing job came in 1995 with "Home for the Holidays." The other cap Foster wore on this one was producer, not actress. "The Beaver" (2011) starring Mel Gibson and Foster, is the latest movie directed by the 48-year-old actress, and she co-starred in it as well.Canadian actress, Sarah Polley also began her acting career as a child and continued successfully into adult roles. She sat in the director's chair for the first time on a couple of shorts in 1991. With 3 other directing credits under her belt, Polley has just completed directing "Take This Waltz," starring Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman.

Anjelica Huston has tried her hand at directing twice, and so has Melissa Gilbert. Their last efforts occurred about a decade ago. Gwyneth Paltrow also tried her hand at directing a short called "Dealbreaker" in 2005.Whether Jolie turns out to be a dabbler or a serious director, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" certainly is an ambitious start, reflecting serious social concerns.

Leonardo DiCaprio topped it for the first time, flying past last year's winner, Johnny Depp. DiCaprio, 36, landed huge paydays for blockbusters Inception and Shutter Island, reportedly earning over $50 million for the former thanks to a contract guaranteeing him a percentage of the profits. It brought Forbes' grand total of the actor's earnings to $77 million between May 2010 and May 2011.

His earnings last year were approximately $75 million, dropped to number two with $50 million. He was trailed by comedian, actor, singer, producer Adam Sandler. The 44-year-old funnyman earned an estimated $40 million last year.

Will Smith and Tom Hanks rounded out the top five with $36 million and $35 million, respectively.On the actresses list, which was released last month, Angelina Jolie and Sarah Jessica Parker tied for first, both earning $30 million.

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon also tied for a close spot behind Jolie, 36, and Parker, 46, earning $28 million each. And even though her career has been in a downswing, Julia Roberts came in fifth with $20 million thanks to her mega-hit Eat, Pray, Love.

In evidence that there's still a huge divide between men and women in Hollywood, the highest-earning actresses raked in less than half of DiCaprio's pay.Each year, Forbes compiles data from agents, lawyers, producers and other industry insiders to estimate actors' earnings.