Kristin L. Davis

Kristin Davis became a household name for her portrayal of Charlotte York in Sex and the City, the HBO series about four single women who confront hard-won truths about romance and sexuality while juggling careers and friendship in New York City. Davis used her comedic skills to play a naïve art dealer throughout the show's six seasons (1998–2004), during which she and the ensemble cast won or were nominated for numerous awards. Davis reprised the role in 2008 when Sex and the City was released on the silver screen; a sequel is due out in 2010. At Rutgers, Davis studied under legendary acting coach and theater arts professor William Esper. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree, she went on as many as 12 auditions a day while working in New York City restaurants and as a yoga instructor in Los Angeles. She found small parts on The Larry Sanders Show, General Hospital, and ER. Then in 1995, she got her big break: the role of neurotic rich girl Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place, where she made a splash before being knocked off in the show's second season. Davis, whose family moved from Highland Park to South Carolina when she was 8 years old, says she is proud of Sex and the City because it broke ground for women in many ways. Her advice to aspiring actors? Never give up. She certainly didn't.