Scarlett, Tilda and Charlize join summer fun
KATHERINE WATERSTON
Career check: After supporting roles in Michael Clayton, Inherent Vice and Steve Jobs, Waterston, 37, dove headfirst into the tentpole pool last fall as a goodhearted witch in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Why we’re obsessed: Just as galactic creatures feared Sigourney Weaver, they’d better beware of Waterston’s no- nonsense Daniels in Alien: Covenant ( in theaters now). With lives on the line, she brandishes a blaster and bungees off a flying spacecraft to take down an alien on the way to being our new cosmic crush.
PRIYANKA CHOPRA
Career check: India’s highest- paid Bollywood actress sprang to U. S. fame in 2015, thanks to her role as an FBI agent in ABC’s Quantico, just renewed for a third season.
Why we’re obsessed: Aside from her acting chops, Chopra, 34, has become a red carpet favorite, with appearances at the Oscars and the Met Gala. Baywatch ( in theaters now) marks Chopra’s first major U. S. film role, and as the reboot’s chief villain, she kills it with a glamorous, ruthless performance that should put her on James Bond’s radar.
GAL GADOT
Career check: The 32- year- old Israeli actress earned her action- movie bona fides in the Fast and Furious franchise, though she broke out as the powerful Wonder Woman, nearly stealing the show in last year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Why we’re obsessed: Before she rejoins her fellow do- gooders in this fall’s Justice League, Gadot wields a sword, shield and her signature Lasso of Truth in Wonder Woman ( in theaters now). Princess Diana tackles the battlefields of World War I in her first solo film, with the hearts of fanboys and fangirls everywhere on the line.
SOFIA BOUTELLA
Career check: The Algerian- born dancer has worked acrobatic screen magic as a lethal- footed assassin in Kingsman: The Secret Service and with a scene- stealing turn as the alien Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, where she had the audacity to lounge in Kirk’s captain’s chair. Why we’re obsessed: Boutella, 35, has double duty this summer, as a French spy seduced by Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde ( July 28) and as Ahmanet, the cursed ancient princess brought back to life to crush Tom Cruise’s Nick Morton in The Mummy ( Friday).
SCARLETT JOHANSSON
Career check: Johansson’s career needs little introduction, but let’s put it plainly: Playing Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers franchise has made her one of Hollywood’s wealthiest, most bankable stars. Still, her recent flop, the critically derided Ghost in the Shell, means Johansson, 32, could use a summer rebound.
Why we’re obsessed: Johansson gets down and dirty in Rough Night ( June 16), her first raunchy, R- rated summer comedy. The bachelorette romp has everything: copious amounts of tequila, a male stripper who dies, and Kate McKinnon.
TILDA SWINTON Career check: Swinton, 56, continues to add breadth to her iconoclastic career, playing the creepiest dictator on a train in the dystopic Snowpiercer ( 2014) and the wise Ancient One in Marvel’s Doctor Strange ( 2016).
Why we’re obsessed: Swinton straps the evil back on for Snowpiercer director Bong Joon Ho, portraying the powerful CEO of a multinational corporation looking to profit from the massive, lovable title creature in Netflix’s Okja ( in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and on Netflix June 28).
ZENDAYA
Career check: The mononymous youngster has grown up under Mickey Mouse’s eye: The 20- year- old fashion maven, singer and former Disney Channel kid got her start on Shake It Up and K. C. Undercover and also has a self- titled pop album to her credit.
Why we’re obsessed: Zendaya offers quirky swag as Michelle, a classmate of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in SpiderMan: Homecoming ( July 7). While shrouded in some mystery — is she a new version of Peter’s longtime comicbook love Mary Jane Watson? — her quick- talking character has no problem smack- talking the teen hero. No web shooters needed.
CARA DELEVINGNE Career check: The 24- year- old British supermodel has demonstrated glimpses of serious star potential, but hasn’t truly broken out with roles as the mysterious Margo in Paper Towns and Enchantress in Suicide Squad.
Why we’re obsessed: The role of Laureline in director Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ( July 21) sets Delevingne in the spotlight as a futuristic special operative alongside Dane DeHaan ( A Cure for Wellness). And she’s got some wild outfits to boot.
CHARLIZE THERON
Career check: She’s one of the most famous actresses in the world and her Oscar- winning résumé speaks for itself. Action film nerds couldn’t help but put her on a pedestal, however, after the 41- year- old’s turn as the hard- charging Furiosa in 2015’ s Mad Max: Fury Road.
Why we’re obsessed: Seriously, what’s not to love about her badly bruised, emotionally broken but ultra- sexy MI6 agent in Atomic Blonde? In the midst of taking down a German spy ring, she kicks a dude down a flight of stairs, seduces a lovely lady and looks really good in neon.
DANIELLE MACDONALD
Career check: Macdonald, 26, took a turn on American Horror Story: Roanoke, but quickly became an “It” girl at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, thanks to her role as a young rapper in Patti Cake$ ( Aug. 18). The art- house film sparked a major bidding war and was bought by Fox Searchlight for $ 9.5 million.
Why we’re obsessed: The go- forbroke Australian actress makes Patti Cake$ the underdog story of the summer, spitting fire as a blue- collar New Jersey teen with hip- hop aspirations.