If anyone could use sex as a weapon, it'd be the erotic ELLEN BARKIN. Able to make legendary leading men like AL PACINO and ROBERT DeNIRO weak in the knees is no easy feat, but for this sizzling sex symbol, it's just all in a day's work. Not only can the bold Barkin steam up the big screen, she's also adept at drama and comedy, as she makes abundantly clear in her soon-to-be-released comedy, 'Drop Dead Gorgeous.'

This native New Yorker didn't take long to find her place on Hollywood's A-list of leading ladies. After "cutting her teeth" on daytime soaps, she sank 'em into a juicy role in the classic flick 'Diner' (1982), which marked the feature film debuts of both Ellen and director BARRY LEVINSON. Barkin followed that pic up with another notable performance in the dramatic 'Tender Mercies' opposite Academy Award™ winner ROBERT DUVALL.

As she rocketed up the Hollywood food chain, Ellen continued to smolder on the silver screen. She went on one unforgettable ride with TOM BERENGER in 'Eddie and the Cruisers,' then got close with GABRIEL BYRNE in the hot 'Siesta' (so close, in fact, that the two tied the knot in 1988). Barkin also delivered a spicy mix of action and comedy when she heated things up with DENNIS QUAID in 'The Big Easy' (1987).

Barkin sealed her seductive status in the 1989 thriller 'Sea of Love,' driving both Al Pacino and film critics wild with her mysterious performance. During the '90s, she continued to get a "rise" out of her male counterparts when she paired up with JACK NICHOLSON in the comedy 'Man Trouble' (1992). Yet a year later, the 45-year-old beauty once again proved to have a flair for the dramatic, when she blew audiences away in the heartbreaking 'This Boy's Life' with Robert DeNiro and a young LEONARDO DiCAPRIO.