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They say that the only real New Yorker is one that was born there, so we've assembled this awesome collection of the most gorgeous women to be born in the heart of the Empire State.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarly Jo is a true New Yorker - her mother is an Ashkenazi Jew from the Bronx and her father is a Danish architect, perfectly capturing the melting-pot aesthetic of Gotham City. She grew up with very little money and first started pursuing acting at the legendary Professional Children's School in the city - the institution that has launched careers from Elliot Gould to Macaulay Culkin. She now splits her time between Los Angeles and New York, where she was recently seen canoodling with Justin Timberlake.
Alicia Keys
During the early 80s, when Alicia Keys was growing up there, the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen was a rough and tumble place. Before the Disneyfication of Times Square and the surrounding areas, it was one of the meanest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Keys, born Alicia Cook, got her first break at the age of four playing a sleepover guest on The Cosby Show. She went on to attend the Professional Performing Arts school, graduate at sixteen and launch a massively successful music career.
When we think about the boroughs of New York, Staten Island always seems to be in last place. Perhaps that's because it's so far away from the hubbub of Manhattan, or maybe because it's kind of desolate and creepy. One thing that the former Richmond has going for it is the pipes of its favorite daughter, former Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera. The family moved to a small town in Pennsylvania after she was born, but she's a New Yorker at heart.
My So-Called Life showing up on Netflix Instant made us rekindle our 90s crushes on Claire Danes. Unlike some of the other ladies on this list who clawed their way up from humble beginnings, Danes had it a little easier - her grandfather was the Dean of art and architecture at Yale. She attended the ritzy Dalton School as well as a number of other institutions before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson's girlhood is a true New York story - her mother never married her father, and when the actress was just eight years old they moved into an abandoned building in the Lower East Side to live as squatters, repairing the decimated apartment into a habitable domicile. She was discovered on her front porch by Larry Clark and Harmony Korine and cast in Kids, and it's been all good news from there.
Brooklyn-born Anne Hathaway represents the hippest of the boroughs with pride, despite moving to New Jersey when she turned six. The Garden State wasn't enough to contain such a hottie, and she returned to New York (state, that is) to attend Vassar. She's had a scintillating career ever since, glossing over her bizarre relationship with that sleazy Italian embezzler guy, and we're incredibly psyched to see her as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
Jennifer Lopez
Jenny from the Block has always been inordinately proud of her New York roots. Born in the Bronx and raised in Castle Hill, she attended the borough's Catholic schools growing up (a common situation for many city dwellers). Not long after graduating, she scored a role as one of the Fly Girls on In Living Color and her career took off like a rocket. She moved out to Long Island to give her family a little room to stretch, but she's still a New Yorker at heart.
Another Brooklyn girl, Alyssa Milano actually fled the borough for a suburban upbringing out on Staten Island, where she quickly realized that she was possessed of an unusual talent. At eight, she won a nationwide competition to be cast in a touring production of Annie, and it wasn't long before she scored her career-making role on Who's The Boss. After teen stardom faded, she managed to put together a solid career in movies and TV. She's also dyslexic, which is sort of hot.
Julia Stiles has the classic New York young actress story - she started early with recurring roles with a number of theater troupes before making the jump to movies in 10 Things I Hate About You. She's continued to split her attentions between the stage and the screen, as well as some sidetracks into TV - most notably a well-received part on Dexter.
Liv Tyler's early life was shrouded in mystery and controversy - born at New York's Mount Sinai, she was originally told she was the daughter of prog-pop master Todd Rundgren. The truth came out years later when Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler was named as her actual progenitor. She attended the prestigious York Preparatory School but started modeling when she was fourteen, so didn't have much of a social life.
Let's close this list with an Outer Boroughs hottie - Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, just over the border from the city. Her mother was an opera and vocal coach, which helps to explain her insanely virtuosic voice. In high school, she started working as a demo singer for local recording studios, and when her tape got to Tommy Mottola, fireworks erupted and a career was born.
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