Hailed as the teen queen of the mid-'90s, Alicia Silverstone rapidly ascended the summit of idolism with the help of an infamous Aerosmith video and starring roles in the cult trash favorite The Crush, and Amy Heckerling's sleeper hit Clueless. Despite such a promising beginning to her career, however, the vivacious, green-eyed blonde subsequently weathered a series of professional set-backs, due to poor film choices, weight issues, and an industry increasingly congested with such similarly ebullient young starlets as Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt. By the end of the decade, Silverstone's future looked uncertain, although many observers noted that her youth and talent made her chances for a comeback entirely plausible.
Born to English parents in San Francisco on October 4, 1976, Silverstone is the daughter of a real-estate agent and an airline stewardess. She began working as a child model at the age of six after her father sent several pictures of her in a bathing suit to a few agencies. Modeling work led to TV commercials, which in turn led to work on a number of TV series including an episode of The Wonder Years which cast her as Fred Savage's literal dream girl. At the age of 15, Silverstone landed her first starring role in The Crush (1993), a Fatal Attraction for the Noxema set in which she portrayed a young woman obsessed with an older man (Cary Elwes). Although the film was trashed by critics, it was a hit among its teenage target audience, and Silverstone -- who had become legally emancipated from her parents while making the film in order to work longer hours -- was feted at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards with trophies for Best Villain and Breakthrough Performance. Around the same time, she starred in the popular music video for Aerosmith's "Crazy." Her onscreen antics with Liv Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven, coupled with her vampish turn in The Crush virtually ensured Silverstone's status as Hollywood's latest embodiment of nubile, underage female sexuality.
Born to English parents in San Francisco on October 4, 1976, Silverstone is the daughter of a real-estate agent and an airline stewardess. She began working as a child model at the age of six after her father sent several pictures of her in a bathing suit to a few agencies. Modeling work led to TV commercials, which in turn led to work on a number of TV series including an episode of The Wonder Years which cast her as Fred Savage's literal dream girl. At the age of 15, Silverstone landed her first starring role in The Crush (1993), a Fatal Attraction for the Noxema set in which she portrayed a young woman obsessed with an older man (Cary Elwes). Although the film was trashed by critics, it was a hit among its teenage target audience, and Silverstone -- who had become legally emancipated from her parents while making the film in order to work longer hours -- was feted at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards with trophies for Best Villain and Breakthrough Performance. Around the same time, she starred in the popular music video for Aerosmith's "Crazy." Her onscreen antics with Liv Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven, coupled with her vampish turn in The Crush virtually ensured Silverstone's status as Hollywood's latest embodiment of nubile, underage female sexuality.