Jordana Brewster

A young actress with dark-haired good looks and a strong personality, Jordana Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, on April 26, 1980; her father, Alden Brewster, is a successful investment banker, while her mother, Maria Jaao, is a former model whose resumé includes an appearance in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Mr. Brewster's career dictated a certain amount of traveling, so Jordana lived in London, England, until age six, then spent four years in Rio de Janeiro, before settling in New York City at age ten. While studying at the New York Professional Children's School, Jordana was bitten by the acting bug, and at the age of 15 she landed the role of Nikki Graves on the soap opera As the World Turns. The same year, Jordana was also cast in a supporting role on another soap, All My Children; her run on All My Children was less than a year, but she continued to appear on As the World Turns until 1998. 1998 also marked Jordana's big-screen debut as the sharp-tongued Delilah in the teen horror opus The Faculty, while a year later she was cast in a showy role in the popular miniseries The '60s. After graduating from high school, Jordana was accepted at Yale, but took time off from her studies to resume her acting career, appearing in two films in 2001, including the box-office blockbuster The Fast and the Furious. While subsequent roles in D.E.B.S. and Annapolis found the emerging actress climbing the credits list with impressive ease, the fact that both films went laregely unseen after receiving only lukewarm reception did little to slow the determined Brewster down. In 2006 the actress prepared to do battle with one of the most notorious villains in screen history as she took an ill-advised turn down an unmarked road in the horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.