Teacher's Pet

Parker Posey, 40, Nov. 8: The Queen of the Indies first made a splash in 1993's "Dazed and Confused" and made a name for herself at Sundance in "Party Girl" a few years later. Though Posey's appeared in dozens of independent films, she's also gone (ever so slightly) mainstream ... more periodically, with roles in "Superman Returns" and "Boston Legal." She's also part of Christopher Guest's hilarious ensemble; our favorite performance is her uber-flirty-cheerleader tryout song in "Waiting for Guffman," "Teacher's Pet." "I'm the character actor in Hollywood movies," she once said, "the girl who has to be annoying so the guy can go to the other girl." Don't believe it; our hearts belong to Parker.

(Retna Ltd.)