Brie ­Larson

          

It’s safe to say that a lot of preadolescent girls dream of becoming movie stars, but Brie Larson’s drive to act stemmed from something more akin to a spiritual awakening. “At three years old, I walked up to my mom while she was doing the dishes and said, ‘I know what my dharma is. I’m supposed to be an actress,’ ” explains Larson. She was apparently as convincing as she was precocious: By the time she was eight, Larson had talked her mother into packing up the car and setting off from their hometown of Sacramento for Los Angeles. Within a year, Larson booked a job appearing in parody commercials on The Tonight Show and she hasn’t stopped working since. In addition to a regular stint on the Showtime series The United States of Tara, Larson has five films in the pipeline, including Noah Baumbach’s latest comedy, Greenberg, in which she appears alongside Ben Stiller, and the teen flick Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which stars Michael Cera. “I’m just getting my sea legs,” says the 19-year-old actress, who has a distinct predilection for comedy. “The first time you make them laugh, you’re like, ‘Oh my god, that just happened,” she says. “Then you’re like, ‘I made them laugh. I’ve earned this.’”

Photo Left: Brie Larson in Los Angeles, June 2009. Top: Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti. Photo Right: Jacket: Hussein Chalayan. Ring: Scosha. cosmetics: mac, including dazzle lash. Hair products: Bumble and Bumble, including Surf Hair. Fragrance: Alberta Ferretti. Styling: Laetitia de l’Escaille. Hair: Shon/Julian Watson Agency. Makeup: Maki Ryoke/Tim Howard Management. Manicure: Beth Fricke for O.P.I./Artists by Timothy Priano. Special Thanks: 5th and Sunset, Los Angeles.