Movie critic Rex Reed accurately described the characters in Jennifer Jason Leigh's gallery as a collection of "sluts and nuts,” but the soft-spoken actress affectionately refers to the hookers, drug addicts and head cases she has played as a group of vulnerable, injured women she is thrilled to get to know on-screen, but grateful she doesn't encounter in real life. A versatile young actress, Leigh possesses intelligence and candor, which have made her one of the leading talents of her generation.

She first garnered critical attention as Casey Powell, the anorexic teenager in the TV-movie "The