“Goodbye, England’s Rose,” sang Elton John at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, while the world watched with tears and empathy. On August 31, 1997, we lost the People’s Princess in a tragic, paparazzi-fueled car chase through the streets of Paris. Fate has taken a number of other much-missed public figures before their time; now we’re celebrating the life of England’s Rose and 12 other celebrities lost to tragedy.

What a difference a professional photographer, some glamour lighting, and oodles of post-pubescent confidence make for these beauties, as they grow from girls next door to Hef’s cover-worthy babes! If they knew then what they know now, what do you think they’d say?

We loved her as Jen, the intriguing new girl with the troubled past on Dawson’s Creek. And we fell in love with her all over again as she blossomed in movies like Dick and then more grown-up fare like Brokeback Mountain. And she’s taken on one of the great American icons in My Week with Marilyn. What’s not to love?