Susan May Pratt
Instead of staying and graduating with her high school class in Michigan, Susan May Pratt made the decision to leave home to pursue modeling, which she had been doing at a local hair salon since she was 14. The decision paid off, and she worked modeling jobs in the summers while continuing her education. While she was working on a BFA in architecture in New York City, her modeling agency sent her out to audition for an independent film. Although she didn't land the part, the casting agents noticed her, and she began to get more auditions. Before she knew it, she was forced to drop out of school, as she was landing too many acting jobs. Her first role was a small one in an Edward Burns drama, "No Looking Back," in 1998. From there, she quickly gained a name for herself, and by the next year, she already had a significant part in a major picture. She played Mandella, a Shakespeare expert and the best friend of the main character in the teen comedy "10 Things I Hate About You," which was a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." She has since gone on in a short time to become a major star with many high-profile credits to her name, among them playing a star ballet student in 2000's "Center Stage," a juror on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in 2004, and a mother on the hit drama "Mad Men" in 2010.