This third volume of a reference work on the stars of cinema history focuses on the personalities of the modern era - both on and off the screen - and the state of the industry in the 1990s. Among those featured are Alan Alda, Woody Allen, Kim Basinger, Cher, Gerard Depardieu, Jodie Foster, Bob Hoskins, Madonna, Steve Martin, Michelle Pfeiffer, Maggie Smith, Denzel Washington, Sigourney Weaver and Robin Williams. For each artist there is a detailed career survey which includes the titles of all his or her films, and an analysis of critical and financial success. Quotes from contemporary reviews, salary figures and contract facts are woven into the biographies, as well as details of the roles that were rejected and the films that were never made. The author is programme consultant for the National Film Theatre in London, and a regular contributor to "The Independent".