Meet Hollywood's New 'It Girl'

Thanks to her lauded role in An Education, Carey Mulligan is Hollywood's latest "It Girl," poised to join the ranks of Julia Roberts and Audrey Hepburn. "She has fragility, she has humor, she can be very moving, she's bright, and she's great to look at," says a director. Her star should continue to rise (she is set to appear in several high-profile movies, CNN notes)—as long as she doesn't follow the trajectories of short-term "It Girls" like Molly Ringwald.

How to avoid that fate? One publicist recommends taking up humanitarian causes, hiring a great management team, and dating a fellow star—the last of which Mulligan, currently attached to Wall Street 2 costar Shia LaBeouf, can check off. And Mulligan's blushing embarrassment when asked about her new status ("'It Girl' is such a weird term," she says, trailing off) only adds to her charm. (More Carey Mulligan stories.)