Name at birth: Nicole Evangeline Lilly

Evangeline Lilly was an unknown, part-time actress before skyrocketing to fame in 2004 for her role on the TV series Lost (with Matthew Fox). Lilly was a college student in British Columbia, supporting herself with odd jobs and keeping one foot in the entertainment industry, when she was cast in Lost as Kate, the rough-and-tumble brunette with a shady past. By the end of the show's first season, Lilly was gracing magazine covers as one of TV's hottest stars. Beyond the series, which ended in 2010, Lilly has appeared as Jeremy Renner's wife in the Kathryn Bigelow film The Hurt Locker (2009).