Angela Bettis

Bettis' screen debut in director Franco Zeffirelli's Sparrow (1993) found the then 18-year-old actress gaining her first positive screen notices directly out of the gate, and though it would be six years before she would again go before cameras, a pair of notable efforts in 1999 would find many agreeing that it was worth the wait. In addition to a moving turn as a sympathetic teen who develops feelings for a wanted man in the little-seen indie drama The Last Best Sunday, Bettis gained exposure, and critical kudos, for her role as an anorexic teen in the Winona Ryder drama Girl, Interrupted. Though Girl, Interrupted co-star Angelina Jolie would take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Performance that year, many would agree that Bettis' considerably less substantial supporting role packed as much if not more dramatic impact than the much-celebrated Jolie.

Making her maiden voyage into horror with a role as Kim Basinger's sister in the horror outing Bless the Child, Bettis wetted her toes in the genre despite the fact that it would be two full years until her standout performances in May and the otherwise forgettable Carrie. In the meantime, Bettis would continue to gain notice in such dramas as Perfume and Falling (both 2001). The same year Bettis established genre credibility, she could be spotted in Love Rome before she began gearing up for her role in Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper's horror remake The Toolbox Murders. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide