Alexandra Daddario

It's a long way from dreaming about being Cosette in "Les Miserables" to starring in a big-budget studio franchise, but Alexandra Daddario had the talent and drive to make her dreams come true. The native New Yorker honed her skills at the Professional Children's School but didn't land her first role until she was 16, when she was cast as rebellious teen Laurie Lewis on "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011; TOLN 2013- ). Back-to-back supporting roles in Noah Baumbach's bitter Brooklyn drama "The Squid and the Whale" (2005) and Ethan Hawke's directorial debut "The Hottest State" (2006) provided small but memorable showcases, and led to her recurring role on the cable procedural "White Collar" (USA, 2009-14). In 2010 the striking actress beat out hundreds of other young hopefuls for the role of demigod Annabeth in "Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief," based on author Rick Riordan's popular fantasy adventure series. After detours into comedy (the Farrelly Brothers' 2011 "Hall Pass") and music (Imagine Dragons' 2012 video for "Radioactive"), Daddario surfaced in "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" (2013) and "Texas Chainsaw 3D" (2013). Versatile and ambitious, Alexandra Daddario was on the verge of something great.