The irresistible favourites onscreen

What is it that makes an Angelina Jolie or a Cameron Diaz Hollywood cult favourites where as many others who are simply irresistable on-screen are limited to a lifetime of playing best-friend and cameo roles? Times zeroes in on six actresses who light up the screen with their presence and deserve to be on the A-list...

Gabrielle Union
Fame Quotient: 10 Things I Hate About You, Bring It On, Citizen Kane...And on the small screen Friends... Her A-list qualities: Her���s is a mix of attitude with class. She���s also fun to watch on the screen, what with a mix of interesting roles. A Halle Berry comparison would not be out of place.

Anna Paquin
Fame Quotient: At 12,she won an Oscar as Holly Hunter���s young daughter in The Piano. Almost Famous and X-Men made sure that she stayed in limelight. Her A-list qualities: She has that mischevious school girl mix of innocence and corruption that makes you feel that she���s up to something naughty all the time.

Julie Delpy
Fame Quotient: Killing Zoe, where she played an art student moonlighting as a prostitute, Before Sunrise. And for TV buffs, as Nicole in ER. Her A-list qualities: It���s her sexy mix of casual, yet slightly mussed up look that touches your heart. When she flashes her winsome smile, you���re hooked.

Thora Birch
Fame Quotient: American Beauty.
Because she captured the blown out of proportions of a suburban adolescent to perfection. As Harrison Ford���s young daughter in Patriot Games and Clear a n d Present Danger. And lately, her portrayal of the gawky Enid in Ghost World... Her A-list qualities: Her plain-girl roles appeal because they allow her beauty to radiate from the screen in a quiet, devastating way. She can bring and show her emotions right on her perfect, round shaped face. And as you watch the emotions passing on her visage, you���re lost. She���s delicate and yet tough.

Zoe Saldana
Fame Quotient: Pirates of the Caribbean... Didn���t you just for a moment wish that Johnny Depp would pair up with her instead of Keira Knightley? That���s Zoe���s charm. One just wants to watch her... She���s already in the big league (Steven Spielberg���s The Terminal). Her A-list qualities: She���s proven that she can play girly and tomboy roles and everything in between with equal ease. She���s already got several new projects too...