Emma Stone, 21, emerged from the Judd Apatow comedy crew, having held her own in Superbad, as Jonah Hill’s way-cool, super-smokin’ home-ec partner, and she struck gold with Zombieland. But her comedy credentials go all the way back to Arizona, where she grew up idolizing Gilda Radner and Molly Shannon and cut her teeth with a local theater troupe. At age 15—after giving her parents a PowerPoint presentation about ditching high school for a career in acting—she left with her mother for Hollywood, where she grew into that alluring raspy voice and the Jessica Rabbit looks.

You can read about the other ladies featured on the cover at VanityFair.com