Spring's Fresh Faces

2013's crop of up-and-comers includes a "Giant Slayer," a model whose mom is an iconic pop singer, an alum of MTV's "The Real World" and a Grammy-nominated crooner.

Popular culture's latest crop of emerging names and faces is comprised of scions of famed acting and musical talents, an ex-reality television performer, Hugh Grant's former child co-star and a Grammy-nominated singer who is yet to release his first album.

These rising stars may have been on the fringes of fame for some time, but 2013 sees them step firmly into the bright glare of the entertainment spotlight.

Nicholas Hoult

A quick check of Nicholas Hoult's acting credentials and you could be forgiven for thinking the actor is far older than his 23 years. Having made his professional debut in 1996's "Intimate Relations" at the tender age of 7, Hoult went on to appear alongside Hugh Grant in "About a Boy" (2002), starred in the English TV series "Skins" (2007), Tom Ford's "A Single Man" (2009) and the comic book franchise prequel "X-Men: First Class" (2011). The beginning of 2013 saw Hoult move up to leading man status with turns in "Warm Bodies" as a love-sick zombie, and as the titular character in "Jack the Giant Slayer" (out Mar. 1). He also made headlines in January when he split with his actress girlfriend Jennifer Lawrence. Of her recent Oscar win for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook," Hoult (who met Lawrence when they co-starred in "X-Men: First Class") told the Telegraph that he was rooting for her and that they are still friends. "It's a great film and she's fantastic in it, so I'm very happy for her."

Tali Lennox

Daughter of superstar singer Annie and Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtman, Tali Lennox (who turns 20 this year) made her modeling debut for British mass retailer Topshop in 2009. Since then she's been featured in campaigns and walked the runway for labels such as Burberry, Acne, Marc Jacobs, Karen Millen, Christopher Kane, Prada, Missoni, Jonathan Saunders and Miu Miu, as well as starring in editorial fashion features for British and German Vogues, Tatler and W magazine. Having recently made the move from London to living full-time in New York, Lennox is not sure she will continue modeling, telling the Daily Mail in December, "I don’t really want to do fashion shows again, to be honest. I’ve been extremely lucky, but I’m not 6ft tall and I don’t look like [the supermodel] Gisele." Whatever she chooses to do — an aspiring artist, her work has been displayed in London galleries — Lennox has quickly established herself as an "it" girl around Manhattan thanks to her pop royalty lineage and camera-ready visage.

Luke James

Some singers spend decades in the pursuit of a Grammy nomination. Before Luke James even released an first album, his breakout single "I Want You" was nominated for best R&B performance at this years Grammy Awards. A New Orleans native, James attended high school alongside Frank Ocean and has co-penned songs for Justin Bieber, Keri Hilson, Chris Brown and Kelly Rowland. He also appeared in the video for Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)." Moving forward with his debut album "Made to Love" and the release of new single "I.O.U," James was humble in  missing out on music's biggest prize on Feb. 10, tweeting: "no trophy here good people. but we did win. just the acknowledgment says we're headed in the right direction. thank you @TheGRAMMYs. next year."

Jamie Chung

A California native, Jamie Chung made her first mark on the popular culture in 2004 when she appeared in the fourteenth season of MTV's "The Real World - San Diego." Using her reality exposure to launch her acting career, Chung, 29, went on to feature in "Veronica Mars" (2004), "Days of Our Lives," "Greek" (2007), "The Hangover Part II" (2011) and "Premium Rush" (2012). Raising her profile to leading lady status is the harrowing new film "Eden" (in select theaters from Mar. 20 and on demand Apr. 20), based on the life of human trafficking survivor and activist Chong Kim. The film tells the story of a Korean-American teenager (Chung) who is kidnapped from a bar in Mexico and forced to work as a sex slave in Las Vegas. Following "Eden," Chung will also be seen in "The Hangover Part III" and is currently filming "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For." On Feb. 26 She was named to the cast of NBC's new pilot "Believe" from powerhouse director/producer J.J. Abrams.

Max Irons

With such an abundance of acting DNA running through his system it's no surprise Max Irons is on his way to becoming an A-list star. Dad is veteran English actor Jeremy Irons and mom is Irish actress Sinead Cusack. 27-year-old Irons previously caused ripples in the zeitgeist when he modeled for fashion companies Burberry and Mango and appeared onscreen in 2011's "Red Riding Hood." But it's his casting in the role of Jared Howe in "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer's sophomore cinematic tale, "The Host" (out March 29), that's sure to create waves. Of his favorite on-set experience during the film shoot, Irons told HLN: “I know this sounds silly, but there was a big fight sequence where I got to fight three guys and I sort of won — or at least it was equal. That would never happen to me in real life! If I saw three guys, I’d run and hide in the toilets, but on that particular day I got to win and it’s nice to know what that feels like.”

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