Ali Larter

Ali Larter was just another 20-year-old aspiring blond in Hollywood when Esquire magazine asked her to pose for a November 1996 cover story. The story was a hoax: Larter "starred" as a fictitious actress named Allegra Coleman, who was, in the magazine's words, "Hollywood's next dream girl." Larter assumed the job would end with a paycheck and a thank-you. Not quite. Casting directors saw the photos, and suddenly her career kicked into high gear. She landed a part as Reese Witherspoon's sorority sister in Legally Blonde, and Larter's role in Varsity Blues made her a household name--well, at least among guys--for a scene in which she walked into a room wearing only a whipped-cream bikini.