Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 18, 1980. Like her former character Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell knows what it's like to come from a broken home: Her parents split when she was just 2 years old.

Her mother started checking out modeling agencies after several people said her daughter would look great in pictures. Before her 13th birthday, Kristen Bell had an agent and began to appear in newspaper advertisements for several Detroit retailers, including Kmart. In little time, these snowballed into TV commercials and private acting lessons.

Before she graduated from a Catholic high school near the Motor City, she sang as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. After graduation, Kristen Bell headed to the Big Apple to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Just three years later, in 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In 2002, she appeared on Broadway in The Crucible, opposite Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.

Kristen Bell took her act to Los Angeles and scored a few guest-starring roles, appearing on Everwood, American Dreams and The Shield in 2003. In 2004, she was in the cable film Gracie's Choice, playing a girl forced to help raise her sickly siblings while her mother tries to overcome a drug addiction. That same year, Kristen Bell played the president's kidnapped daughter in director David Mamet's thriller Spartan.

Then Veronica Mars came along, the role that thrust Kristen Bell into stardom. Veronica was a 17-year-old high school student who went from "in crowd" to outcast almost overnight. The show ran from September 2004 to May 2007.

In 2005, Kristen Bell was cast as Mary in the Showtime version of Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a role she had already played onstage. That same year, she also appeared in the big-screen hits Deepwater and The Receipt.

2006 was an equally busy year for Kristen Bell, as she added the flicks Roman, Pulse and Fifty Pills to her resume.

Kristen Bell's TV stints filled 2007. She became the narrator on the hit show Gossip Girl. She was also given the role of Elle Bishop on the wildly popular TV drama Heroes. You might think that the flame that is Hayden Panettiere would outshine all who stand next to her, but Kristen adds her own touch that acts as a beacon for red-blooded men the world over. As if her relatively small but crucial role on ensemble show Heroes weren't enough, 2008 also saw Kristen complete work on the Star Wars-driven Fanboys and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a romantic comedy.

And all her hard work paid off when she was voted AskMen.com's No. 59 Most Desirable Woman of 2008.

Sexiness

Some women look like scary hags without makeup; Kristen Bell is not one of them. Her skin is fair, but she doesn't look washed-out if she's not wearing much makeup. When she does add some extra color here and there, it basically just adds to what she already has. And what she already has is very good.

Kristen Bell's sex appeal isn't overwhelming. However, few guys would kick Kristen out of bed. The 5'4" starlet is a little spark plug who could probably get things heated up quickly in the bedroom. With a fresh, youthful face, she looks more like a high school girl than an established woman.

Success

Once she won the lead role in Veronica Mars, Kristen Bell became an overnight sensation. While Mars gained attention in its first season, Kristen Bell made the rounds and got face time in a number of places. She appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and served as a guest cohost on ABC's gabfest for gals, The View.

Kristen Bell had some bit roles on a few TV dramas in addition to appearing in several Broadway musicals like The Crucible. However, it was her performances in big-screen and made-for-TV movies that really started to turn some heads and get her noticed. In fact, Kristen Bell has been nominated for several awards and she won a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television (Veronica Mars) and a Jury Prize award for Best Supporting Actress (Roman), in addition to two other victories.

After Veronica Mars ended, Kristen Bell's star power only got stronger as she landed a role on the ever popular Heroes and lent her voice as the narrator of Gossip Girl. And in 2008, she jumped onto the big screen in Fanboys and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.