Amy Adams: The World’s 100 Most Influential People

Drop Dead Gorgeous, 1999: Adams' breakout role was as teen beauty contestant Leslie Miller in this 1999 dark comedy. Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards starred as beauty contestants out to sabotage each other and kill their competitors, with Ellen Barkin and Kirstie Alley as their scheming mothers. New Line Cinema

Brenda Strong, Catch Me If You Can, 2002

Catch Me If You Can, 2002: Adams was cast as con-man Frank Abagnale Jr.'s naive love interest Brenda Strong, and had to wear fake braces for the role. The movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, was nominated for two Oscars. DreamWorks

Susan, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006: The actress showed her comic chops when she co-starred with Will Farrell in this box-office hit that featured Adams as Susan, an assistant to NASCAR-driver Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) who convinces him to return to driving after his career implodes. They fall in love, obviously. Columbia Pictures

Enchanted, 2007: In this light-hearted movie, Adams proves she has singing pipes as well. She plays Giselle, a fairy-tale princess who gets dropped in modern-day New York and crashes with a divorce lawyer and his young daughter. In the end, she gets to kiss Patrick Dempsey. Idina Menzel also co-stars. Disney

Doubt, 2008: Adams took a turn for the serious and was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sister James in John Patrick Shanley's film version of his play. She plays a naive teacher who becomes suspicious of a priest's relationship with a young African-American altar boy. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep co-star. Miramax

Julie & Julia, 2009: Adams starred alongside Meryl Streep again in Nora Ephron's final movie. Adams plays a call-center employee who vows to make every recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year, and blogs about it. Streep played Julia Child in the 1950s. Columbia Pictures

The Fighter, 2010: Adams played Charlene Fleming, a woman helping her fighter boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg) get back on his feet, in David O. Russell's sports drama. She was again nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance but the award went to her co-star Melissa Leo instead. The Weinstein Company

The Muppets, 2011: Adams returned to singing in the puppet kids movie, which was written by co-star Jason Segel. The movie was both a critical and a commercial success. Disney

Man of Steel, 2013: The actress played Lois Lane to Henry Cavill's Superman. It was the highest grossing Superman movie ever, and the second highest grossing reboot of all time, after The Amazing Spiderman. Warner Bros

American Hustle, 2013: Adams worked with David O. Russell again on this critical hit, and got her first Best Actress Oscar nomination. She plays Sydney Prosser, who poses as British Lady Edith Greensly to help execute an elaborate scam. American Hustle was only the second film since 1981 to be nominated in all four acting categories.Columbia Pictures

Amy Adams: Hollywood’s Renaissance Woman

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