Gemma Arterton

In the space of just one year, English actress Gemma Arterton rose from fresh-faced newcomer to an experienced film and television actress with serious credits to her name, including a sizable role in the 22nd James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace" (2008). An accomplished and award-winning stage actress by the age of 18, Arterton earned her big break with a lead role in "St. Trinian's" (2007), based on cartoonist Ronald Searle's books about rowdy schoolgirls. More starring roles in British features followed, including Guy Ritchie's "Rocknrolla" (2008) and acclaimed television efforts like "Lost in Austen" (2008) and "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" (2008), which cast her in the title role. The flurry of work was immediately overshadowed by her supporting turn in "Quantum of Solace" as Agent Fields, a M16 operative who works with Bond during his adventures in South America. She was soon announced as the female lead opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley in the film version of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," (2009), which helped to solidify her status as an international star in the making.