Women We Love: Gillian Anderson

Object of our affection: Gillian Anderson, actress.

- As Special Agent Dana Scully on The X-Files, she won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Saturn Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also reprised her iconic character in the feature film The X-Files: Fight the Future and its sequel, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, opening this Friday.

- Like her X-co-star David Duchovny, she also wrote and directed her own episode of The X-Files, titled "All Things".

- Also on the big screen, she proved there was life after Scully with her critically acclaimed performance in The House of Mirth. Other films she has appeared in include The Mighty, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story and The Last King of Scotland.

- Back on the small screen, she gained more award recognition for the Masterpiece Theatre presentation of Bleak House. She currently hosts the long-running PBS program.

- In addition to the X-sequel, she will appear in the upcoming films How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, Boogie Woogie and No One Gets Off in This Town.

Women We Love: Meryl Streep

Object of our affection: Meryl Streep, actress.

- Where to begin? The consummate actress of stage, screen and television, she not only can do it all, but also do it with inherent class, unquestionable technique and unbridled honesty. And speaking of doing it all, she does just that -- passion, singing, drama, dancing, comedy -- in this week's Mamma Mia!, not to mention the upcoming Doubt and Julie & Julia.

- She currently reigns as the all-time Academy Award nominated champ -- 14 times; along with two wins for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice, she has been nominated for The Deer Hunter, The French Lieutenant's Woman, Silkwood, Out of Africa, Ironweed, A Cry in the Dark, Postcards from the Edge, The Bridges of Madison County, One True Thing, Music of the Heart, Adaptation and The Devil Wears Prada.

- And it's not just Oscars -- she has 21 Golden Globe nominations (second only to Jack Lemmon); in addition to most of the above, she has been recognized for She-Devil, Death Becomes Her, The River Wild, Marvin's Room, The Hours and The Manchurian Candidate. Her six Globe wins include her performance in the epic television masterpiece Angels in America ...

- ... Which also won her her second Emmy; her first was for the classic mini-series Holocaust. She was also nominated for First Do No Harm. Other awards crowding her mantel include those from the American Film Institute (Lifetime Achievement Award), BAFTA, Cannes, the César Awards, Outfest, the National Board of Review, the People's Choice Awards, the Satellite Awards, the Screen Actors Guild and numerous critics groups.

- In addition to such other films as Julia (her film debut), Manhattan, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Plenty, Heartburn, Defending Your Life, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, A Prairie Home Companion, Rendition and Lions for Lambs, her work on the stage includes her Tony Award nominated turn in A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, plus The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull and Mother Courage and Her Children. Told you could do it all.

Women We Love: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Object of our affection: Maggie Gyllenhaal, actress.

- She hails from a show biz family: father Stephen Gyllenhaal is a film director, mother Naomi Achs is a producer and screenwriter and her brother Jake ... well, you know about him.

- Her first three films were her dad's Waterland, A Dangerous Woman and Homegrown, followed by Donnie Darko, where she played sister to her real-life brother.

- Critical acclaim (and a Golden Globe nomination) came with her breakout role as a Secretary into bondage. She received another Globe nod for SherryBaby.

- She often gravitates to indie fare, including Cecil B. DeMented, Riding in Cars with Boys, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Casa de los Babys and Happy Endings.

- But she isn't averse to studio projects, such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Mona Lisa Smile, Monster House, World Trade Center, Stranger Than Fiction and a little movie called The Dark Knight, opening next week.

Women We Love: Chelsea Handler

Object of our affection: Chelsea Handler, actress/ comedian/writer.

- Forget Leno, Letterman and O'Brien, hers is the late night talk show to watch: Chelsea Lately on E! She is known for her caustic (yet always hilariously spot-on) celebrity commentary and often is joined in her on-air hijinks by her loyal assistant, Chuy (who she affectionately refers to as her "little nugget").

- Her stand-up career has led to appearances on The Tonight Show, The View and comedy specials on VH1, HBO and Comedy Central.

- As an actress, she has guest-starred on The Practice, My Wife and Kids, The Bernie Mac Show and Reno 911! and co-starred in the movie Steam.

- Online, she co-stars with Leah Remini and Jenny McCarthy in the web series In the Motherhood, which will be making its way to network television in the near future.

- She is the author of two best-selling books: My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Standsand Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.

Women We Love: Rosalind Russell

Object of our affection: Rosalind Russell, actress.

- This woman we love has played many Women We Love on both stage and screen: Sylvia Fowler, Hildy Johnson, Ruth Sherwood, Mame Dennis, Momma Rose and a certain Mother Superior.

- She never won an Oscar (out of nominations for My Sister Eileen, Sister Kenny, Mourning Becomes Electra and Auntie Mame), but she did receive the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy and five out of five Golden Globes (for the latter three movies, plus A Majority of One and Gypsy).

- Other classics in her filmography include The Women, His Girl Friday, Picnic, The Trouble With Angels and its sequel Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.
- On Broadway, she won a Tony for Wonderful Town, the musical version of My Sister Eileen. She was also nominated for her Auntie Mame, which she would later recreate on film.

- Turner Classic Movies celebrates her career with a month long tribute starting July 1. Films scheduled, which will air every Tuesday next month, include the TCM premieres of The Guilt of Janet Ames, Craig's Wife, A Majority of One and A Woman of Distinction.

Women We Love: Anne Hathaway

Object of our affection: Anne Hathaway, actress.

- After a short-lived television series (Get Real), she gave a star-making performance as Princess Mia Thermopolis in the Disney romantic comedy The Princess Diaries.

- More ingénue roles followed with Nicholas Nickleby, Ella Enchanted and the Princess Diaries sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. She also voiced characters in the animated features The Cat Returns and Hoodwinked!

- She broke through to adult roles with her topless scene in the landmark Brokeback Mountain, playing the wife of Jake Gyllenhaal's Jack Twist.

- Another hit, The Devil Wears Prada (where she held her own opposite Meryl Streep's title character), cemented her stardom.

- Recently, she portrayed author Jane Austen in the biopic Becoming Jane, and co-stars as the sexy Agent 99 in this week's big screen version of the classic TV comedy Get Smart.

Women We Love: Kathy Griffin

Object of our affection: Kathy Griffin, actress/ comedian/writer/producer.

- She has parlayed her self-appointed "D-list" status into her own brand of stardom, with a particular affinity to "her gays".

- Her early stand-up career led to her breakout role on the Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan. She has also guest starred on Ellen, Seinfeld, The X-Files, The Simpsons and Ugly Betty and appeared in the movies Pulp Fiction, The Cable Guy and Muppets from Space.

- When the Susan series ended its four year run, she turned her newfound existence on the fringes of show business into a new career, most notably her own Emmy Award winning reality show, plus high profiled gigs on E! and The View.

- Her often outspoken views on celebrities and life in Hollywood have caused some controversy, such as her red carpet gag about Dakota Fanning in rehab and her infamous "Suck it, Jesus!" Emmy acceptance speech.

- Next on the busy redhead's schedule: the fourth season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (premiering tomorrow night), hosting Bravo's A-List Awards (also tomorrow night) and her first comedy CD, For Your Consideration,on sale June 17.

Women We Love: Tina Fey

Object of our affection: Tina Fey, actress/writer/ producer.

- She was the first female head writer of Saturday Night Live, which led to her co-anchoring the legendary "Weekend Update" desk and also led to ...

- 30 Rock, her critically acclaimed comedy series (based loosely on her experiences at SNL) that has won her an Emmy as producer and a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards as an actress.

- At the movies, she wrote and co-starred in Mean Girls and recently starred in Baby Mama.

- Next up: more 30 Rock and the films This Side of the Truth and Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill.

- Smart is sexy, and the ladies have taken note: she was named the #1 sexiest woman in AfterEllen.com's Hot 100 this year. More Women We Love on the list: Kate Winslet, Ellen Degeneres, Cate Blanchett, Portia de Rossi, Salma Hayek, Idina Menzel and many more.

Women We Love: Sarah Jessica Parker

Today continues our four part salute to the stars of Sex and the City as they are about to make the leap to the silver screen with their new movie, in theaters May 30.

Object of our affection: Sarah Jessica Parker, actress/producer.

- As the center of the Sex universe, the Manolo Blahnik-wearing, Cosmopolitan-sipping, sex column-writing Carrie Bradshaw, she won four Golden Globes, three SAG Awards and an Emmy, plus additional trophies for her role as producer of the series.

- She paid her dues on Broadway as the "Tomorrow" belting title orphan in Annie. Later, she would star in revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick) and Once Upon a Mattress.

- Her lead role in the short-lived but well-remembered TV sitcom Square Pegs led to such teen films as Footloose, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Flight of the Navigator.

- She graduated to adult, sexy roles with L.A. Story (as a typical L.A. girl named SanDeE*), followed by Honeymoon in Vegas, Miami Rhapsody and The First Wives Club. Other film appearances include such quirky fare as Hocus Pocus, Ed Wood and Mars Attacks!

- Post Sex, she has starred in State and Main, Strangers With Candy, The Family Stone, Failure to Launch and the recent Smart People. After this week's Sex movie, she'll appear in the big screen romantic comedy A Family Affair.

Women We Love: Kim Cattrall

Today continues our four part salute to the stars of Sex and the City as they are about to make the leap to the silver screen with their new movie, in theaters May 30.

Object of our affection: Kim Cattrall, actress.

- As the sexy Samantha Jones, she was a cougar before there was a name for it; for her vampish performance, she was nominated for the Emmy five times unsuccessfully, but she did take home a Golden Globe Award.

- Prior to her noted sexcapades, she guest-starred on everything from The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries to The Paper Chase to Charlie's Angels.

- She made her name on the big screen in such lowbrow comedies as Porky's and Police Academy before became a fanboy pin-up with Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (as a Vulcan, no less).

- Frankly, she's not known for her film choices, as her resume includes such notorious stinkers as The Bonfire of the Vanities, Baby Geniuses and Crossroads (as Britney Spears' mother, no less).

- Capitalizing on her Sex character, she wrote the sex manual Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm.

Women We Love: Kristin Davis

Today brings the first of a four part salute to the stars of Sex and the City as they are about to make the leap to the silver screen with their new movie, in theaters May 30.

Object of our affection: Kristin Davis, actress.

- As Charlotte York, the prim and mostly proper one, she endured a short-triggered husband and his overbearing mother only to find love ... and maybe babies ... with her divorce lawyer.

- Year after year, she watched her co-stars get Emmy nominations ... but she finally got one of her own in the series' final season.

- Pre-Sex, she was best known as the shrill and spoiled Brooke Armstrong on the popular nighttime sudser, Melrose Place.

- Other television appearances include Seinfeld, Friends and Will and Grace, and she played Annie (as in "Annie's Song") in the TV biopic Take Me Home: The John Denver Story.

- Film parts include mom roles in such family friendly fare as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, The Shaggy Dog and Deck the Halls.

Women We Love: Christina Ricci

Object of our affection: Christina Ricci, actress.

- At age ten, she made her film debut upstaging Cher and Winona Ryder in Mermaids, and then went on to steal The Addams Family movies from the likes of Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston.

- Hitting her tween years, she paid her dues in such family friendly fare as Casper, Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain and That Darn Cat, and played a younger version of Rosie O'Donnell in Now and Then.

- She grew up fast with challenging roles in Bastard Out of Carolina, The Ice Storm, Buffalo '66, Sleepy Hollow, Black Snake Moan and her Golden Globe nominated performance in The Opposite of Sex.

- Other notable films on her résumé include such other gay faves as John Waters' Pecker (hee hee), All Over the Guy, The Laramie Project and Monster.

- This week, she revs the engine of our hero Speed Racer as his gal pal Trixie.

Women We Love: Gwyneth Paltrow

Object of our affection: Gwyneth Paltrow, actress.

- She won an Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and even an MTV Movie Award for her role as the cross-dressing actress who put Shakespeare in Love.

- Prior to that triumph, she played the ill-fated wife in Seven and the Jane Austen matchmaker in Emma, winning a Satellite Award for the latter.

- She has starred in everything from thrillers (A Perfect Murder, The Talented Mr. Ripley) to comedies (The Royal Tenenbaums, Shallow Hal) to biopics (Sylvia, Infamous, Running With Scissors).

- Following the London production of Proof, she reprised her performance in the movie version, receiving a Golden Globe nomination.

- She takes on the "Lois Lane" role in this week's Iron Man, playing Virginia "Pepper" Pots.

Women We Love: Una O'Connor

Movie Dearest concludes the month long look at our favorite classic character actresses.

Object of our affection: Una O'Connor, actress.

- The prolific character actress of stage and screen found her first success in both with her breakthrough role as a dowdy domestic in Noel Coward's Cavalcade.

- She often played hysterical women, such as in James Whales' The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein; her performances left audiences in hysterics as well.

- Of her many film appearances, many have gone on to become classics, including The Barretts of Wimpole Street, David Copperfield, The Informer, Rose-Marie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk, Random Harvest, The Canterville Ghost, Christmas in Connecticut and The Bells of St. Mary's.

- Later in her career, she moved on to the new medium of television, performing in the usual dramatic omnibuses of the day.

- She ended her career as she began, with an unforgettable role on both stage and screen, in Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution.

Women We Love: Eve Arden

Movie Dearest continues a month long look at our favorite classic character actresses.

Object of our affection: Eve Arden, actress.

- Over her 60 years in show business, she did it all -- film, television, radio, theater -- receiving an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy Award along the way.

- Her film debut (under her given name, Eunice Quedens) as a wisecracking showgirl in Song of Love set the tone for her lasting screen persona; she perfected it in the classic Stage Door, followed by her Oscar nominated turn as Joan Crawford's pal in Mildred Pierce (in which she delivered the classic line "Personally, Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young.").

- Other film favorites on her résumé include At the Circus, That Uncertain Feeling, Ziegfeld Girl (which she actually was on Broadway in the 1930's), Cover Girl, Night and Day, One Touch of Venus, Anatomy of a Murder and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

- Her most famous (and Emmy winning) creation was as Our Miss Brooks, the witty high school English teacher she embodied on film, television and radio.

- Years later, she gained new fans as the put-upon Principal McGee of Rydell High in Grease; she was one of the few original cast members to repeat her role in the sequel Grease 2, her final movie appearance.