Sandra Oh

'Best Actor Possible'

After years of training as a ballerina, Oh leaves home to study at Montreal's National Theatre School of Canada. "I was called 'The Quota Child,'" she tells the Los Angeles Times of being only one of a few Asian actors at the program. "I just didn't let it get to me...I decided very early that I was going to be an actor. Period. The best actor possible." That year, she beats more than 1,000 hopefuls to star in the CBC TV drama The Diary of Evelyn Lau, which earns her the Best Actress Award at Cannes' television festival.

A Genie-Winning Turn

Oh stars in Double Happiness, Mina Shum's portrait of a young Chinese-Canadian woman who struggles to live a modern life without upsetting her traditional immigrant parents. Variety singles out Oh in its review: "The film's highlight is Oh's mesmerizing performance. She's a stunning discovery." The 23-year-old wins a Genie (the Canadian equivalent of an Academy Award) for Best Actress and moves to L.A.

Another Genie

After returning to the stage in the Off-Broadway play Stop Kiss, Oh stars in Don McKellar's end of the world feature Last Night about a woman who enters into a suicide pact with a stranger on their last night on Earth. "I already had her in the back of my mind when I was writing the script," McKellar tells the Orange County Register. "I have been impressed with Sandra for a long time...She can show emotion without seeming vulnerable, and that is an interesting combination you don't find in many actresses. There really was no other person for this role." Oh earns her second Best Actress Genie for Last Night.

January 21

'Sideways' Praise

Oh plays a sexy, wine-loving biker chick/single mom opposite Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church in her husband's Oscar-winning comedy Sideways. "[Alexander Payne] just thought the part of Stephanie was right for me," Oh tells the New York Times, "and it's not necessarily the kind of part people would think of me for." After the film is widely praised by critics, Oh and Payne separate and eventually divorce in 2006.

March 27

Oh Returns to TV

Oh plays surgical intern Cristina Yang on ABC's new medical drama Grey's Anatomy with Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl (left). "I get to play a woman who is extremely ambitious and unapologetic and driven, and sometimes not very sympathetic," Oh tells the AP. "So you weigh the opportunity to actually do good work." She wins a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in 2006, a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor, and consecutive Emmy nods.

April

Being the Cover Girl

Oh lands her first major magazine cover for Marie Claire, but still keeps her lips sealed on her personal life. "I don't listen to this stuff. I don't see it," she tells the magazine, referring to tabloid gossip. "I tell my people I don't want to know about it, because while rationally you might know it's ridiculous, it can hurt your feelings. It can knock me off from being my authentic self."