2007'S VALEDICTORIANS: ANGELINA JOLIE

Angelina Jolie is currently fulfilling fanboy fantasies in Beowulf with her role as Grendel's mom. Grendel's naked mom. In digital 3-D, no less. But energizing her base is hardly the 32-year-old actress' only accomplishment this year. In A Mighty Heart, Jolie strapped on a prosthetic pregnancy belly, donned a curly wig, and delivered the sort of heart-wrenching turn that reminded audiences why she won that Academy Award (for 1999's Girl, Interrupted ) in the first place. In other words, she acted.

''The belly just slid right on, and a wig is a lot easier than getting your hair done, but learning her French-Cuban accent was difficult,'' Jolie says, describing her preparations for playing Mariane Pearl, widow of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter slain in Pakistan in 2002. During the five weeks she shot the picture with director Michael Winterbottom in India — mostly in one house, with a camera following her from room to room as she sometimes improvised dialogue — Jolie was hounded by paparazzi, and a terrorist group reportedly declared a fatwa against her during production. ''It wasn't like a code red or anything,'' she says, ''but we did have a few moments...''

Whatever happened in India — and whatever she's wearing in Beowulf — her performances in 2007 were far more interesting than her private life. A nice change of pace. —Benjamin Svetkey

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