Play word association using "Alicia Silverstone," and chances are the response will be "Clueless."

Thanks (or no thanks) to the success of that 1995 high school flick, Silverstone has been forever cemented in the public mind as Cher Horowitz, the bratty Valley Girl. What everyone forgets, however, is that Silverstone's film debut two years earlier was anything but light.

That first movie was "Crush," in which Silverstone played a 14-year-old obsessed with late-20-something Cary Elwes, even to the point of trying to kill Elwes' girfriend. For her spooky performance, she was named the year's Best Villain by MTV Movies.

Silverstone grew up in a hurry in Northern California. Born Oct. 4, 1976 to a Scottish-born flight attendant and an ex-pat London real estate investor (and sometimes actor), she was taking ballet lessons before kindergarten and began appearing in commercials at 6. That led to modeling, which led to interest from filmmakers and her decision to drop out of San Mateo High School, where she had been a cheerleader.

Her performance in "Crush" caught the eye of Martin Callner, a director of Aerosmith videos, and she wound up appearing in three -- "Cryin'," “Crazy" and "Amazing."

Like a baton in a relay race, Silverstone kept getting passed along to better opportunities. Just as Callner had spotted her in "Crush," so film director Amy Heckerling liked what she saw of the young actress who had become known as "the Aerosmith chick." Thus came "Clueless."

Besides winning critical acclaim, "Clueless" also made Silverstone wealthy, leading to a $10 million, three-movie contract with Columbia pictures. Not far down the road, however, she experienced the downside of Hollywood stardom when her role as Batgirl was panned by just about every major critic and led to a Razzy award for Worst Supporting Actress.

Along the way, Silverstone enjoyed a tabloid-friendly social life, playing the field and dating such A-listers as Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Sandler. She remained single until 2005, however, when she and rock musician Christopher Jarecki were married in an outdoor  ceremony at Lake Tahoe.

Silverstone has continued to make movies, was a surprise hit on stage in Kenneth Branagh's production of "Love's Labour Lost," and is a regular on the talk show circuit -- mostly talking about her new passions, vegetarianism and animal rights.

"I realized I was an animal lover eating animals," Silverstone has said, although she has experimented with a meat-free diet ever since childhood.

She now funds a shelter for rescued pets in Los Angeles and has become a spokesperson for PETA. In 2007, Silverstone posed nude (albeit in a rather discreet pose) in an advertisement to promote a PETA campaign. All of this has to be helping America's oldest and most socially conscious Valley Girl escape the 15-year-old shadow of her signature movie.

But then there's that film currently awaiting production for 2010 -- "Clueless: The High School Reunion."