Known for: The Lost Boys
Net worth: $1 million
Long before Buffy was a thing, Jamison Newlander played a vampire hunter fighting off vamps alongside his brother. The Lost Boys (1987) starring Corey Feldman as his brother, Kiefer Sutherland and Corey Haim was popular! The film franchise includes two sequels, a comic book series, plus a television series in the works.
Newlander graduated from Beverly Hills High School and moved to the East coast to study acting. In 1996 he became an award-winning playwright with his play, “Remember This.” He starred with River Phoenix in the TV movie, Circle of Violence: A Family Drama shortly before Phoenix’s death. In Valerie , he starred with Jason Bateman. Newlander had a bi-weekly podcast called “The Jamison Newlander and Some Other Guy Show” that streamed on Saturdays. He’s currently working on getting another podcast online called “Current Frequencies.” Also on the Internet, he created a Wikisoap, the first-ever soap opera of its kind.
Jodie Foster
Known for: Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs
Net worth: $100 million
Do you remember that darling Coppertone ad with a dog tugging at the back of a pig-tailed toddler’s bikini? That was Jodie Foster. She started young in film as well. Her role in Taxi Driver (1976), in which she played a child prostitute as a twelve-year-old, is memorably recognized with an Academy Award nomination. Foster took a break from acting to graduate from Yale. Returning as a serious actor, she played a rape survivor In The Accused (1988). The role delivered her an Oscar for Best Actress, her first of two.
Her most widely acclaimed and well-known movie, partly due to the fact that it’s impossible to un-see, is the epic horror flick, The Silence of the Lambs. Her portrayal of the FBI Academy student, Ms. Clarice Starling, won her another Best Actress Academy Award. Trying her hand at directing, Foster has directed film and television. She’s worked with Netflix directing episodes of Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and Black Mirror. While at Yale, an obsessive fan stalked Jodie Foster. On March 30, 1981, he sought to impress her by assassinating President Ronald Reagan. The president escaped wounded.
Meryl Streep
Known for: Winning the most Oscar nominations
Net worth: $90 million
Playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer is another actor of our cinematic pantheon, the incomparable Meryl Streep. “Mrs. Kramer” is but one masterful performance by the renowned film goddess.
Meryl, short for Mary, is a nickname her father came up with since every other woman in the family was named Mary. After enrolling at the Yale School of Drama, she started acting in the 1960s but hit it big in the 1970s. In 1977, Julia turned out to be her breakout film. By 1978 she received her first Oscar nomination for The Deer Hunter. In all, she has been nominated for a record 21 Academy Awards and 31 Golden Globe Awards. She won eight Golden Globes. Besides Kramer vs. Kramer, she has won an Oscar for Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady. Her work ethic is impeccable. She’s known to prepare obsessively. At first, Dustin Hoffman was annoyed by her tireless intensity.
Vanessa Redgrave
Known for: Julia
Net worth: $20 million
Acclaimed actress Vanessa Redgrave was born great. The fact was announced during curtain call at a London theatre on January 30, 1937. None other than Laurence Olivier told the audience: “Tonight a great actress was born.” The proud father was Olivier’s co-star, Michael Redgrave. The words proved prophetic. Redgrave has won practically every performance award. The Royal Shakespeare Company-trained actress has not only won an Academy Award, but she’s won two Emmys, two Golden Globes, two Cannes Best Actress awards, a Tony, a SAG, and a Laurence Olivier theatre award.
She premiered on film with oddball comedy Morgan! (1966). She won an Oscar for Julia, starring opposite Jane Fonda. The film was an enormous success—critics loved it too. The Jewish Defense League did not. Redgrave was personally threatened for her work in the Holocaust drama. She has been an outspoken opponent to the War on Terror. Her support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has caused her various backlash. In 1995 Redgrave was elected to be a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Brad Pitt
Known for: Thelma and Louise and Fight Club
Net worth: $240 million
Producer and actor, Brad Pitt has one of the world’s most recognized faces. It’s a pretty one, too. We first recognized it, and the rest of him, in Thelma and Louise as a hitchhiking charmer who Geena Davis’ “Thelma” falls for. The one-nighter proved instructive! In A River Runs Through It , Robert Redford’s 1992 blockbuster, Pitt proved his knack for serious acting, becoming the turning point in his career. Big roles began coming his way. He starred in Kalifornia next. Another significant turning point occurred after starring in the cult-favorite, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles .
Prior to the onset of success, the Gen X favorite got bit parts in big movies like No Way Out, Less Than Zero and No Man’s Land. He bailed on a journalism degree at the University of Missouri just two units shy of a degree in order to move to L.A. to become an actor. He wouldn’t need the advertising degree. But he did have to work as a mover and an El Pollo Loco chicken mascot before becoming one of the wealthiest men in the business. After 20 years in Hollywood, he’s starred in massive hits like 12 Monkeys, Seven, Snatch, and the Ocean’s Eleven film franchise based on the original Rat Pack movie. Look for Pitt in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood next!