2003

Claire Danes

Fall

A Controversial Courting

Danes begins shooting the film adaptation of Jeffrey Hatcher's play Stage Beauty opposite Billy Crudup (left). While on set, Crudup and Danes are reportedly linked. Around that time, Crudup and his pregnant girlfriend, actress Mary-Louise Parker, split. After three years together, Danes and Crudup also split.

2005

Claire Danes

October 21

Romantic Comedies

Danes stars as Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman's love interest in Shopgirl, a film adapted from the novel written by Martin. The New York Times' Dana Stevens says, "Ms. Danes' mysterious face gets a full workout, registering shifts of emotion so subtle that she seems, at times, to understand more about the story's moral and emotional complexities than the script itself does." That December, Danes appears in the holiday comedy The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams.

2006

Claire Danes

September

Danes & Dancy's 'Evening'

Danes films Evening with Vanessa Redgrave and Meryl Streep. While shooting on location in Rhode Island, she falls for costar Hugh Dancy (left). "I think we just happened upon each other because we were friends," Danes later tells PEOPLE. The following year, she appears opposite Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer in Stardust.

2007

October 18

Danes Does Broadway

Danes perfects a cockney accent for her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, the theater classic that inspired My Fair Lady. "It's a very vocal role," she tells PEOPLE. "Eliza is in hysterics, yelping and hollering." But she admits that she has never seen the film immortalized by Audrey Hepburn. "There's no way I can compete with Audrey. But that's not my intention."

Photo Credits

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): Susan Miller/Startraks; Humberto Carreno/Startraks

Edited by Mai Dinh, Janet Murphy