Jennifer Connelly is a true blue star who has given the audience several noteworthy performances throughout her career. The actress has an immaculate talent to mould herself into a character and it looks as real as it can get. This ace talent of hers has got Jennifer this far in her career all by her own merit and we cannot wait to see what she has to offer next. Jennifer started her acting career at a very young age as a child model. Only when she was 12, she bagged a small part in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In America and left everyone with her performance. It was only after a few more stellar performances did she achieved mainstream success in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.

This opened up several opportunities for the actress and she was getting offers for more adult roles. Because of her stunning looks, she was often relegated to play either the hero’s girlfriend or the main character’s mistress but she still managed to outshined and make a mark with her roles. Requiem For A Dream and A Beautiful Mind are considered her best performance till date. The actress bagged an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Beautiful Mind as well.

Jennifer sure has proven her talent and versatility with the kind of roles that she has done in the past. The actress is turning 50 today and we wanted to celebrate her career by looking back at 5 of her best movies! Take a look:

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

This is by far Jennifer's best performance. Co-starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Letto, the actress essayed the role of drug-addled Marion Silver in Requiem For A Dream. Her character required a certain amount of death that only an actor like Connelly could portray on the screen. The role demanded a lot from Connelly to depict the voracious cravings of an addict and she took the character to horrific depths very effortlessly.

Jennifer Connelly in Requiem For A Dream (Photo Credit: Facebook)

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

Only a very actor get a chance to work on a big project in their very first feature but Jennifer did it by bagging a role in Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In America. She got to share the screen with De Niro, Pesci, and James Woods and that surely counts for something. She essayed the role of Young Deborah in the film, the older version of which was played by Elizabeth McGovern and while her role was very small, it made a significant impact on her career.

Jennifer Connelly in Once Upon A Time In America (Photo Credit: Facebook)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

While many discovered the fact that Jennifer was a part of Spider-Man Homecoming quite late, hers was a very significant role.  Jennifer voiced the character of Karen/Suit Lady in the film. Karen was a natural-language user interface created by Tony Stark for Spiderman. Remember the scene where Peter is stuck in a Damage Inc. facility overnight, and he passes the time by talking to the A.I.? That was Jennifer nailing a very challenging role like a boss.

Jennifer Connelly in Spider-Man: Homecoming (Photo Credit: Facebook)

Hulk (2003)

More than Hulk's action scene, people loved to see his love story with Betty Ross. Jennifer essayed the role of Dr. Bruce Banner ladylove Betty Ross in Ang Lee's 2003 released film. She was the only woman on earth to be able to soothe the savage beast. Jennifer was a great pick to play Betty who helped anchor some attention from all the crazy fights happening on the screen to the fancy character of hers.

Jennifer Connelly in Hulk (Photo Credit: Facebook)

House Of Sand And Fog (2003)

Based on the popular novel by Andre Dubus III, House Of Sand And Fog had Connelly essay the role of Kathy. Also starring Sir Ben Kingsley, the film was a taxing emotional drama where Connelly was seen as a fragile woman loses her beautiful beach home to an auction. She makes desperate attempts to get back the house from the new owner, an Iranian resident, Behrani. The camaraderie between the two is too pleasant to be missed.

Jennifer Connelly in House Of Sand And Fog (Photo Credit: Facebook)

Apart from acting, Jennifer Connelly is also into charity work. She was named Amnesty International Ambassador for Human Rights Education in 2005 and has been a part of many projects for several non-profit organisations. We hope to see more of her work both in films and for people. Here's wishing the talented actress a very Happy 50th Birthday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 12, 2020 09:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).