The Most and Least Successful Models Turned Actresses

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The Most and Least Successful Models Turned Actresses




For every Charlize Theron ("Monster"), there is a Cindy Crawford ("Fair Game").

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From the Runway to the Big Screen





Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz, and Angelina Jolie are just a few of the many models who have launched extremely successful film and television careers. But other models don't make the transition from modeling to acting quite so smoothly. Anyone remember Cindy Crawford's Fair Game?

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1. Bijou Phillips



Actress Bijou Phillips, perhaps best known for her role in Hostel II, began modeling at the age of 13. She became the youngest model on record to appear on the cover of Italian Vogue before she quit the industry after four years. She's now engaged to former That 70's Show actor Danny Masterson.

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2. Malin Akerman



When Malin Akerman was 17, she won Ford's Supermodel of Canada search, signing with the storied agency and appearing in several television commercials. She later shot to fame with major roles in The Heartbreak Kid, 27 Dresses, and Watchmen. Akerman has modeling in her genes - her mother was a Swedish model.

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3. Tyra Banks



Not everything media mogul Tyra Banks touches turns to gold. The former fashion model began her acting career with a role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but it wasn't until 1994's Higher Learning that Banks made it onto the big screen. But Banks isn't really known for her dramatic skills - does anyone remember her turn in Disney's Life-Size with Lindsay Lohan? Exactly.

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4. Milla Jovovich



Milla Jovovich was just 12 years old when Richard Avedon photographed her for Interview magazine. The favorite of both Miuccia Prada and Gianni Versace jump-started a successful film career when she starred in the ultra-fashionable The Fifth Element in 1997, positioning Jovovich to become one of the most popular action film actresses in the businesses.

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5. Iman



Model Iman remains one of the most successful models of all time, having played muse to Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Yves saint-Laurent. But her catwalk success did not parlay into a solid film career, as Iman's most memorable film role is probably that of a shapeshifter in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

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6. Kim Basinger




Before Kim Basinger was Vicky Vale, she was a beauty queen and later, a Breck shampoo girl. Basinger appeared in hundreds of advertisements before she launched her acting career in 1976. In 1997, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in L.A. Confidential.

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7. Angie Everhart



Angie Everhart was the first redheaded model to grace the cover of ELLE magazine. She was also an extremely popular fixture in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions during the second half of the '90s. But Everhart's film career never panned out, despite a debut opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero and several straight-to-video erotic thrillers.

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8. Jaime King



Jaime King had modeled for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, Glamour, and Mademoiselle before she made her first film splash in Pearl Harbor. She also co-hosted MTV's fallen House of Style with fellow model-turned-actress Rebecca Romijn. Despite a few stinkers (White Chicks, anyone?), King's film career continues to heat up.

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9. Paulina Porizkova



Like her former co-worker Tyra Banks, Paulina Porizkova has starred in a string of forgettable films. Her biggest role to date was that of a Romanian murder suspect in 1989's Her Alibi, a film that earned Porizkova a 1990 Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Actress.

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10. Aishwarya Rai



The simple truth of it: nearly all Bollywood actresses are beauty queens and/or models before they land their first starring roles. Aishwarya Rai is no exception, with a career that began when she was crowned Miss India World and Miss World in 1994. She's now the most internationally successful Bollywood actress in the world.

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11. Elle MacPherson



It wouldn't be fair to blame the cancellation of The Beautiful Life on Elle MacPherson, but the model doesn't have the best track record when it comes to the entertainment industry. The lingerie queen's acting career peaked with a 5-episode arc on Friends in 1999.

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12. Carrie Anne Moss



Canadian actress Carrie Anne Moss is best known for her role as "Trinity" in the Matrix series, but before she was an action hero she was - you guessed it - a fashion model. Moss worked in Japan and Spain before she was cast in a series of television shows, among them the short-lived Models, Inc.

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13. Karolina Kurkova



In the summer of 2009, supermodel Karolina Kurkova made her blockbuster debut in the oft-maligned film G.I. Joe. Kurkova played Courtney A. Kreiger, a former model who "joined the army to find more challenges." Unfortunately, Kurkova didn't get any major fight scenes.