Lisbeth Salander sprang from Stieg Larsson's imagination in the phenomenally popular Millennium novels. But Noomi Rapace, little known before she got the part in the movie and TV trilogy that played in Sweden in 2009 and in U.S. theaters this year, quickly became the face and soul of Larsson's hacker heroine. Some of that spooky symbiosis is due to Lisbeth's eccentric accessories: the black lipstick, the ring-pierced nose, the tattooed dragon covering most of her back. There's also the actress's look: the high-contrast hair and features and the sinewy body she trained for months to achieve. Both IT machine and feral predator she doesn't walk, she prowls Lisbeth is also, in Rapace's performance, fully vulnerable, totally human. Oscar voters don't seem to have her on their radar; too bad for them. Nor will she play the role in David Fincher's English-language version; the part went to The Social Network's Rooney Mara. Fervent cinephiles, however, know who the one true Lisbeth is.
The Top 10 Everything of 2010
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Biz Deals
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Campaign Ads
- Top 10 Comebacks
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Facebook Trends
- Top 10 Fashion Statements
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Food Trends
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Stories
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Numbers
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Overreported Stories
- Top 10 Pictures
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Reality-TV Moments
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 Talented Web Videos
- Top 10 Toys
- Top 10 Travel Moments
- Top 10 TV Commercials
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Twitter Moments
- Top 10 World News Stories
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 U.S. News Stories
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
In 50 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months