Astrid Bergés-Frisbey

Astrid Bergés-Frisbey memorizes.

Born in Barcelona, and raised in Paris, she dropped plans to study osteopathic science after her father passed away. Instead, she turned to comedic acting.

Her wide-eyed beauty is much too compelling to contain her in small television roles. She is an up and comer, on the brink of major stardom. Her most recent film, Extase, by Cheyenne Carron, is in the running for the Cannes International Film Festival. The biggest fashion houses (like Chloé) sit her front row. British label French Connection, who has a penchant for only hiring the hottest girls of the moment (last season it was Rolling Stone daughters Alexandra and Theodora Richards) cast her as the face of spring 2010.

Astrid is enchanting, a graceful beautiful with a sweet demeanor--the kind of actress that captures hearts as well as turns heads.

French Connection Spring 2010 Ad Campaign

Aimee Mullins

"Hottest Muse" - Rolling Stone Hot List "10 Gutsiest Women" - Jane Magazine "Women We Love" - Esquire "Coolest Girls in Sport" - Sports Illustrated "50 Most Beautiful People" - People Magazine

What does it take for an amputee to become a world record breaking track star and an Alexander McQueen runway model?

Confidence.

Aimee Mullins has it in spades. She needs to. At age one, both of her legs were amputated below the knee due to missing fibula bones. But that did not stop her. At first she impressed through academics. She was chosen by the Department of Defense for a full academic scholarship to Georgetown. At 17, she was the youngest person to hold top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon.

"Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. It's much sexier than any body part."

Then in August 1995, Aimee, a natural athlete despite being paralytic, decided to become a runner. Georgetown track and field coach Frank Gagliano, who had trained five Olympians, saw Aimee's determination and skill, and agreed to coach her. One year later at the 1996 Paralympics, she set world records in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and long jump.

In 1998, TED, a nonprofit that brings inspirational and innovative people together in its yearly conferences, invited Aimee Mullins to speak. The audience was captivated by her youth and go-getter attitude. She even charmed the fashion crowd, who saw her prosthetic legs as art, displaying her on the front covers of Dazed and Confused and i-D magazines. Avant garde London designer Alexander McQueen was touched by her story, and made a pair of carved wooden legs for her debut at his show as a runway model. Currently, she balances her speaking engagements with acting roles in films ("Quid Pro Quo," "Marvelous, " "September").

"Poetry matters. Poetry is what elevates a banal and neglected object to a form of art. It can transform the thing that may make some people fearful to something they can look and look a little longer and maybe understand."

Aimee's lesson is positive body image. She could have been a shrinking violet hiding behind prosthetic legs, but she stands tall, adjusting her height from 5'8" to 6'1" at whim to commend attention. She is not afraid of her disability. She embraces it, and uses it to the best of her advantage.

"I want to do projects that challenge people's ideas of beauty and the myth that disabled people are less capable, less interesting. I want to expose people to disability as something that they can't pity or fear or closet, but something that they accept and maybe want to emulate. To me, beauty is when people radiate that they like themselves."

Words to live by, by an inspiration.

Credits: CaptainU, Curtis Eberhardt, David Skankbone, i-D, Dazed and Confused

Zoë Kravitz

"Born to Rule," the slogan for Vera Wang Princess perfume, fits its spokesmodel Zoë Kravitz perfectly. She is one of those girls so beautiful that not even pixie boy hair and funny glasses will detract from her beauty. She has the sultriness and delicate features of her parents, 80s/90s Cosby star Lisa Bonet and rocker Lenny Kravitz. But looks were not their only gift: with acting chops director Joel Schumacher praises, and a voice that silences her critics, Zoë is poised to hit it big on her own.

Zoë's charm, however, lies in her down-to-earth, nice girl attitude. For the first eleven years of her childhood, she lived with her mother, out of the glare of the spotlight. It was only when "Fly Away" became a big hit that she realized her father was a star.

"My parents did a great job at keeping me down-to-earth and that's what I cherish about my childhood. They taught me to not judge, but love."

She is a hippie at heart, mixing rocker influences with boho headbands and maxidresses. Sometimes she is a bit more elegant, with fitted cocktail dresses, but she wears everything with the same laid back ease. Editors love her ireverent style. PR girls seat her in the front row of fashion shows. She is not afraid to experiment, styling her hair in ringlets one day, chopping it off another day.

"I’m kind of a vintage-y girl. I kind of just like what I like. I shop at flea markets."


"I don't like spending thousands on a T-shirt and I'm not really good with designer names."

While her style is relaxed, her work ethic is not. Not content with riding the waves of genetic blessings, Zoë aspires to be successful on her own merit.

"I think I should try harder.... I have a lot of connections. I want to deliver and have the respect as any other actress in the world."

With a new Vanity Fair article touting her as a star on the rise, and four films (Yelling to the Sky, Twelve, Beware the Gonzo, It's Kind of a Funny Story) coming out in 2010, Zoë is one to watch.

Interview on Nylon TV

Zhou Xun 周迅

Quickly becoming the darling of the fashion set in China and France, actress Zhou Xun 周迅 has graced the covers of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Vogue China. She is also the spokesmodel for French luxury handbag line, Lancel.

“She can be sweet, charming, natural, straight, sexy and multi-faced. All these characteristics are what Lancel women have. We believe Zhou perfectly embodies Lancel.” – Marc Lelandais, CEO, Lancel

But her biggest fan seems to be Karl Lagerfeld. The elusive designer has invited her to sit front and center at Chanel couture twice—no other Chinese actress has had the honor. Although she is a super VIP, she still acts as a fan, bringing a sold out Karl teddy bear as her date and girlishly asking him to autograph.

“We can easily communicate without speaking, and she is talented and expressive." – David Sims, fashion photographer

Supertalented—she was one of the "Four Young Dan actresses" 四小花旦 and has won numerous awards, both for acting and singing. 2000’s “Suzhou River“ 蘇州河 garnered her international acclaim when she won Best Actress at the Paris Film Festival. Instead of concentrating on global superstardom like Zhang Ziyi, she focused on honing her craft.

"I think it's the same to be an actress anywhere because the profession is about attitudes towards events -- it is a process to try to understand life. I think this is the case for actors across the world. It all comes down to how you try to be a good person, and act responsibly."

Hardwork paid off when she won six Best Actress awards in 2005, including a Golden Horse臺北金馬影展 (the Asian “Oscars”) for “Perhaps Love” 如果, 愛. She won two Best Supporting Actress awards for following film, The Banquet 夜宴. Her song was also nominated for a Golden Horse Award, marking her place as a legitimate singer. In 2009 Forbes ranked her number 9 in the Top 100 Chinese celebrity list, and CineAsia named her “Star of the Year.”

Zhou Xun has that rare combination of talent and grace. Perhaps China’s worst kept secret: it is only a matter of time when she captures everyone’s hearts.

Carey Mulligan

Some girls are under the radar, even despite a Golden Globe nomination and a feature in Vogue. You would probably never notice British actress Carey Mulligan if you passed her on the street. Demure and quirky-cute, it takes a prolonged glance to be won over by her.

“Gamine innocence of Audrey Hepburn with the warmth, intelligence and mischief of the young Judi Dench” – Chris Tookey

Of course an indie film would prove to be her breakthrough role. Although you sometimes grimaced at her character’s naiveté in “An Education,” it was impossible not to be transfixed by her giggly precociousness. Here was a girl learning about the real world for the first time, and the risks she took ultimately made her stronger.

“Natural born talent” – Oliver Stone

This is a girl who can, with the twitch of an eye or the faint upturn of her lips, hint upon how she feels. Carey’s veiled mysteriousness is what keeps us guessing: an enigma who does not reveal (all) of her secrets.