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Women on the VergeStarring an all-Canadian cast of actresses who we nominate for Next Big Things.
Evangeline Lilly Evangeline Lilly is perplexed. The leading lady of megahit Lost can’t grasp being called the hottest woman on television. “I have emotionally detached myself from whether or not people perceive me like that,” says the 27-year-old actress, discovered by Ford Models in Kelowna, B.C. “I can’t control that, no matter what I do.” Rewind to fall 2004 and the debut of Lost. Lilly’s character, Kate Austen, had a va-va-voom factor that clicked with fans. Not only did she run around the island in tank tops, face artfully smeared with dirt, but her canoodling with bad boy Sawyer and leader-of-the-pack Jack also generated some serious heat. Off screen, a real-life hook up with co-star Dominic Monaghan has fanned Lilly’s oomph quotient. Then there’s the infamous Rolling Stone cover from October 2005. The former University of British Columbia student who pondered becoming a missionary posed wearing just panties and an unbuttoned shirt. That type of steamy image is something that Lilly grapples with. “I am back and forth about what’s okay and not okay. There are times when I cross that line and didn’t mean to. I have had moments where I’ve called home crying. You just have to let go of it in this industry, or else it will just eat you up.” Sexed-up perception aside, Lilly stays grounded and unaffected by Hollywood hyperbole with help from her family. “I try to be the same Canadian girl I’ve always been. They won’t let me stray.” Breakthrough role Kate Austen on Lost Coming soon Watch for her in ads for Michelle K shoes
Vanessa Lengies If American stars get their start on the Mickey Mouse Club (see: Keri Russell, Justin Timberlake), good Canadian girls do the more cerebral Popular Mechanics for Kids (Elisha Cuthbert). Former host of that show and Stick It co-star Vanessa Lengies is clearly the next in line, if you believe in signs – and the ability to work under less than perfect conditions, as she did on the set of Waiting… with Ryan Reynolds. “My trailer was infested with ladybugs,” she says. “The first cute ladybug I saw, I was like, I’m going to have good luck on this project. But I cannot tell you how scary it is to lie in your trailer and see the walls moving. Nothing’s cute enough.” Breakthrough role Roxanne Bojarski on American Dreams Coming soon My Suicide |
She’s the next Jennifer garner
She’s the next Kate hudson