The Most Successful Models Turned Actors

Celebrities have been crossing professional borders since the beginning of show business, but it seems the latest trend is for models to add acting to their resumes. With international model Gemma Ward’s role as the lead mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Victoria's Secret angel Rosie Huntington Whiteley’s appearance in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, models appear to be taking over this summer’s silver screen. While it’s still too soon to tell if these young model turned actresses will prove to be more than just pretty faces, there are seven thespians who’ve successfully transferred their good looks and comfort in front of a camera into money making, award winning film and television careers. Take a look at who made our list!

1. Charlize Theron

This South African model turned actress got her start at age 16 after winning a local competition, where she won a one-year modeling contract in Milan. Charlize then relocated to New York to pursue work with Pauline’s Model Management. She landed her first acting role in Los Angeles a non-speaking part in 1995’s Children of the Corn. Charlize went on to act in about 20 more films (including 2003’s Italian Job), before she landed the part of a serial killer in Monster, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

2. Cameron Diaz

This well-rounded bubbly blonde talent began modeling for Elite Model Management when she was 16 years old. After gigs with Calvin Klein, Levi’s, and Seventeen magazine, Cameron was cast (with no previous acting experience) in The Mask alongside Jim Carrey, an over-the-top comedy that became one of the top ten highest grossing films in 1994. With My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, the Shrek series, and other major films under her belt, Cameron became the third actress ever to earn $20 million for a single movie role, the honor being for her part in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.

3. Mark Wahlberg

Originally an underwear model for Calvin Klein, Marky Mark proved he’s more than a six-pack of abs when he showed off his acting chops in The Perfect Storm, The Italian Job, Four Brothers, and The Departed. Mark’s role in 2004’s I Heart Buckabees earned him the Village Voice Critics Poll’s award for Best Supporting Performance of the Year.

4. Milla Jovovich

At the tender age of 11, this Slavic model turned actress was discovered by a photographer and soon shot for her first (of hundreds) magazine cover. Revlon, L'Oréal, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, and Versace all wanted a piece of this stunning beauty. Her first acting role came in 1988 in the television film, The Night Train to Kathmandu. After starring in Return to the Blue Lagoon, Milla landed a leading role alongside Bruce Willis in the science fiction action movie, The Fifth Element, which garnered over $263 million worldwide. In 2008, Milla’s role in Resident Evil: Extinction won her the Scream Awards’ Best Actress honor. Other accolades for her otherworldly, butt-kicking silver screen prowess include a  Scream Awards nomination for Best Horror Actress in The Fourth Kind and the Hollywood Spotlight Award for her work in Stone.

5. Diane Kruger

German beauty Diane Kruger runs with the fashion crowd, boasting friendships with designers Jason Wu and Karl Lagerfeld, just to name a couple. Diane began modeling in Paris and hasn’t stopped since. She juggles Jaeger-LeCoultre, L'Oréal, and Calvin Klein campaigns with her burgeoning acting career. Diane appeared in The Piano Player, Wicker Park, Troy, National Treasure, and most famously, Inglourious Basterds, for which she received two Screen Actors Guild nominations.

6. Ashton Kutcher

Funny guy Ashton Kutcher broke into modeling while he was enrolled at the University of Iowa. After he placed first in the “Fresh Faces of Iowa” competition, Ashton worked with Next modeling agency until heading west to pursue a show business career in Los Angeles. His big break came with his role on That ‘70s Show, which aired from 1998 to 2006. Since then, Ashton has been making us laugh in comedies such as Dude, Where’s My Car?, Just Married, and What Happens in Vegas. Most recently, he signed on to replace Charlie Sheen in the television series Two and a Half Men, a gig that is reportedly worth nearly $20 million.

7. Rebecca Romijn

California girl Rebecca Romijn left the University of California, Santa Cruz, to pursue modeling in Paris. With Sports Illustrated, Victoria’s Secret, bebe, Miller Lite, and runway projects in her portfolio, Rebecca turned her attention to acting, which seems to have worked out for the blonde bombshell, considering she won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress and Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mystique in 2000’s X-Men. Most recently, Rebecca nodded to her former fashion career by playing a fashion magazine tycoon on television’s Ugly Betty.

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Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

photo credit: PR Photos