9 Milestones in the Evolution of Julianne Moore

Boogie Nights (1997)

Shortly after, Moore returned to the ensemble format for Paul Thomas Anderson's drama Boogie Nights. As the heartbreaking Amber Waves -- a housewife-turned-porn star who becomes Mark Wahlberg's surrogate porn mother onscreen, and makes late night phone calls to her ex, tearfully begging to speak to her son -- Moore won her first Oscar nomination.

Far From Heaven (2002)

2002 was perhaps the brightest spot in Moore's accomplished career because that is when the actress won two Oscar nominations for her work in the ensemble drama The Hours and her leading role in the Todd Haynes period film Far From Heaven. As a 1950s homemaker who discovers that her husband (Dennis Quaid) is homosexual, Moore's character (and the project) deftly tackled a variety of social issues like race, sexual orientation and class.

Trust the Man (2005)

Of all the titles in her filmography, Trust the Man was Moore's most personal to date. Starring in the romantic comedy -- written and directed by her husband Bart Freundlich -- as a character based loosely on herself, Moore played a successful film actress who struggles to keep her marriage together in spite of extramarital temptations, children and career-related road blocks. Unfortunately the personal nature didn't transcend to critical acceptance; the film rests at 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Children of Men (2006)

At this point in her career, Moore had firmly established herself as one of our generation's greatest dramatic actresses and she chose to prove her versatility in Alfonso Cuarón's dystopian sci-fi film Children of Men. As the former lover of a British activist (Clive Owen), Moore's character tries to smuggle a pregnant woman out of the country to refuge in an allegedly safe space, which is a problem in the movie's anarchic world where a human hasn't given birth in nearly 20 years. Although the film didn't break any box office records, it was critically embraced as "a superbly directed political thriller," and Moore appears in its most shocking scene. (Not embeddable, but click here to watch.)

Crazy, Stupid Love (2011)

This weekend, Moore follows-up her cheating wife role in The Kids Are All Right with a cheating wife role in the romantic dramedy from Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Moore has the unenviable task of breaking Steve Carell's heart in the first act, but she does it effectively and then gracefully steps out of the way so that Carell and Ryan Gosling's bromance can blossom. That she's able to do so much with one of the film's only underwritten roles is a testament to her talent.

With upcoming roles as varied as Sarah Palin (in the HBO drama Game Change) and the "most dangerous witch of the 1700s" (The Seventh Son), Moore is sure to have many more milestones in her accomplished career.

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