Image via Complex Original
This week, The CW network is gearing up for a slew of season premieres: Gossip Girl, 90210, and The Vampire Diaries, to name a few, three primetime dramas that are jam-packed with gorgeous women. But that's nothing new for The CW. Throughout the years, many of the stunning young starlets who've appeared on the network have gone on to become some of the sexiest women in Hollywood—Kristen Bell, Amber Heard and Blake Lively to name a few.
So before you watch the channel's leading ladies continue stirring up trouble on their respective shows, take a look back at some of the hottest women in the history of The CW.
Missy Peregrym
TV Show: Reaper
In the now-canceled series, this model-turned-actress played Andi Prendergast, the college-student girlfriend of the titular reaper, a Joe Schmo who is chosen by the Devil to retrieve souls that've escaped from hell.
Alexis Bledel
TV Show: Gilmore Girls
Over the course of seven seasons, we watched Alexis Bledel, by way of playing the talkative genius Rory Gilmore, turn into a full-fledged hottie on Gilmore Girls.
Lucy Hale
TV Show: Privileged
For one season of the show about a newly fired law student Megan Smith (Joanna Garcia) in need of job, Lucy played her would-be financial savior: the cute, uber-rich (if you couldn't tell by the title) and rebellious Rose Limoges, granddaughter of cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges, whom Smith is assigned to tutor.
Jaime King
TV Show: Hart of Dixie
Jamie plays Lemon Breeland, the daughter of town doctor Brick Breeland and the arch nemesis of Rachel Bilson's character, Dr. Zoe Hart. The sparks started to fly once Zoe came to town and began sharing a practice with Lemon's father. And that tension only built when Zoe struck up a friendship with George Tucker, Lemon's handsome lawyer fiance.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
TV Shows: Ringer
In this recently axed series, Sarah Michelle Gellar played both Bridget Kelly and Siobhan Martin, twin sisters. Bridget Kelly was a recovering drug addict and stripper who flees Wyoming after witnessing a murder and consequently becoming the target of an assassination. Upon hearing the news of her sister's suicide, she decides to take on her identity for protection in New York.
Britt Robertson
TV Show: The Secret Circle/Life Unexpected
Britt's a CW pro. Before starring in the recently canceled series The Secret Circle as Cassie Blake, a young woman who learns that she's a witch following her mother's death, the network cast her in Life Unexpected, where she played Lux Cassidy, a never-adopted orphan who seeks out her birth parents.
Jessica Lowndes
TV Show: 90210
Jessica plays Adrianna Tate-Duncan, a drug-addicted former child actress-turned-country star who became a regular character at the tail end of the show's first season. She was originally only scripted as a guest spot in the series pilot, but was added to the cast in the fourteenth episode.
Persia White
TV Show: Girlfriends
For eight years, Persia played Lynn Ann Searcy, the musician, scholar and bohemian of her foursome, on the hit UPN-turned-CW sitcom. Additionally, she's noted as the most sexually adventurous amongst her friends and often dated like-minded dudes, i.e. the artsy, spiritual, incense-burning types.
Ashley Tisdale
TV Show: Hellcats
While the squad was still in existence, Ashley played Savannah Monroe, the peppy and fiercely intense captain of the Hellcats. She initially clashed with Aly Michalka's Marti Perkins, but soon realized that she needed Marti's help in order to win the championship. Savannah came to Lancer University after leaving Memphis Christian, a decision which upset her devoutly religion family.
Mischa Barton
TV Show: The Beautiful Life
On this short-lived Ashton Kutcher produced series, Mischa played Sonja Stone, a top supermodel who returned to the fashion scene after a mysterious disappearance.
Shenae Grimes
TV Show: 90210
In this reboot, Shenae plays Annie Wilson, a student who moves from Kansas to the famous area code. In other words, she plays the Brenda Walsh role. However, she isn't innocent for too long. Annie develops from a shy newbie to a full-fledged bad girl who joins an escort service to help pay for college and makes a would-be priest reconsider his effort to join the church.
Aly Michalka
TV Show: Hellcats
Aly played Marti Perkins, a pre-law student at Lancer University who loses her scholarship and has no other choice but to join the college's cheer squad, the Hellcats, in order to obtain a new one. Aly gave em' hell for only one season. The show was canceled in 2011.
Lyndsy Fonseca
TV Show: Nikita
Lyndsy currently plays the role of Alexandra "Alex" Udinov, a former sex slave and drug addict who was arrested after a robbery and later became Division's newest recruit. Alex is Nikita's ally, as she was rescued by Nikita in order to avenge Division, the secret government-funded organization who once carried out a massacre on the Udinov family.
Katie Cassidy
TV Show: Melrose Place/Arrow
For one season of the reboot, Katie played the bisexual beauty Ella Sims, a West Hollywood publicist caught up in the dangerous drama of the infamous apartment complex.
She can next be seen on The CW's newest DC comics series, Arrow, playing Dina "Laurel" Lance, a.k.a. Black Canary.
Kristen Bell
TV Show: Veronica Mars/Gossip Girl
Before she was an A-list movie star, Kristen Bell starred as Veronica Mars, a student who, under the tutelage of her detective father, moonlighted as a private investigator. Over the course of three seasons, we watched Veronica go from a nervous high school junior to a college freshman.
Aside from that role, Kristen also serves as the voice behind the anonymous blogger who narrates Gossip Girl.
Maggie Q
TV Show: Nikita
Maggie Q plays the title role, Nikita, a woman who escaped from a secret government-funded organization and, after a three-year hiding period, is back to bring that organization down.
Phoebe Tonkin
TV Show The Secret Circle
For one season, the Australian actress played Faye Chamberlain, the supernatural series' eccentric maverick of a witch in Chance Harbor. In addition to Chamberlain being the most power-hungry of her coven, her rebelliousness and recklessness always attracted trouble.
Kat Graham
TV Show: The Vampire Diaries
Kat plays Bonnie Bennett, a sexy young witch who's best friends with Nina Dobrev's Elena and Candice Accola's Caroline.While she regularly fills the role of counselor and confidant, she's also proven on numerous occasions that she'll step up and risk her life for her BFFs.
Rachel Bilson
TV Show: Hart of Dixie
On Hart of Dixie, Bilson's first television series since The O.C., Rachel plays Dr. Zoe Hart, a fast-talking New York doctor who accepts an offer to practice medicine in a tiny Alabama town. After failing to gain a fellowship in the New York hospital she had a residency at for the past four years, Zoe headed down South, where she's confronted with prissy southern belles, in addition to the mystery of her biological father.
Stephanie Jacobson
TV Show: Melrose Place
Stephanie played the role of Lauren Yung, a med student secretly paying tuition by becoming an escort at night, on 2009's short-lived reboot of the '90s drama.
Erica Durance
TV Show: Smallville
Erica arguably had the most important female role in the series about young Superman: playing the testy Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane who becomes Clark Kent's soulmate.
Jessica Lucas
TV Show: Melrose Place
In 2009's Melrose Place reboot, Jessica played Riley Richmond, a southern California elementary school teacher who was engaged to Michael Rady's character, Jonah. And of course, being that this was Melrose Place, Riley had her fair share of drama. Not only was she constantly wary of her fiance's relationship with Katie Cassidy's Ella character, but she had a wandering eye of her own for her jogging partner, Auggie.
Sophia Bush
TV Show: One Tree Hill
On this long-time CW staple, Sophia played Brooke David, a sexy young fashion designer who was initially promiscuous and exuded confidence, but after falling for Chad Michael Murray's character, Lucas, was revealed to be a far more insecure girl. However, Brooke eventually grew out of playing high school games and became a prominent clothing designer.
Jessica Biel
TV Show: 7th Heaven
On 7th Heaven, The CW's first bona fide hit series (adopted from The WB), Jessica played Mary Camden, the gorgeous daughter of a Protestant preacher. After growing tired of her character's notoriously squeaky clean presentation, Jessica decided to pose in semi-nude pictures for Gear magazine. The racy photo shoot ultimately led to her character being written off of the show. Mary was sent to her grandparents' house in Buffalo for some tough love to counter some "rebellious behavior."
Kristin Kreuk
TV Show: Smallville/Beauty and the Beast
Kristin played Clark Kent's first love, Lana Lang, once the epitome of "the girl next door." Before becoming Lex Luthor's ex-wife and a super-powered vigilante, Lang was a simple girl who worked at a coffee shop and led a non-profit that aided meteor-infected metahumans.
Kreuk will next be seen playing the lead role of Catherine Chandler on the network's modern take on the classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, which premieres on Thursday.
AnnaLynne McCord
TV Show: 90210
AnneLynne plays Naomi Clark, a manipulative mean girl who was regularly found stirring up the trouble at West Beverly Hills High, before graduating and getting wrapped up in the drama of the L.A. social scene.
Amber Heard
TV Show: Hidden Palms
On this controversial and short-lived series, Amber played Greta Matthews, an affluent young sexpot living in Palm Springs, California. Both intriguing and secretive, Greta was on her own since the death of her mother many years before. With her father always away on business, Greta was a self-sufficient loner, although she quickly realized that the show's main protagonist, Johnny (Taylor Handley), was a kindred soul.
Leighton Meester
TV Show Gossip Girl
Leighton plays Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl's high-maintenance, social scene queen bee and best friend to Blake Lively's Serena van der Woodsen character—despite the fact that she's currently dating the purported love of Serena's life.
Nina Dobrev
TV Show: The Vampire Diaries
Nina plays Elena Gilbert, an 18-year-old vampire who's yet to complete her transition. While living in the supernatural world of Mystic Falls, Elena's caught in the middle of a love triangle with two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon.
And on top of playing Elena, Nina also plays the role of her own character's doppelganger, Katerina Petrova.
Blake Lively
TV Show: Gossip Girl
On Gossip Girl, Blake plays Serena van der Woodsen, a rebellious vixen with a scandalous past. Serena is the high society "it" girl of the Upper East Side, where she now resides after returning from a Connecticut boarding school. Whether she's dealing with spiteful friends, jealous exes or her conniving family, Serena is always knee-deep in drama. For Ryan Reynold's sake, we hope life doesn't imitate art.