12. Nikki Rocco

To Rocco, the movie business is really about dollars and cents. "I've never fancied myself as a creative person," she says. "I like bringing in the money." As the only woman in Hollywood history to head a major studio distribution operation, Rocco is known to network with the boys on the golf course. Four decades after joining Universal as a high school student looking for a part-time job, Rocco can take credit for this year's record-setting $1 billion-plus domestic gross, thanks to hits like "Mamma Mia!" "Wanted" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

She's hoping for more holes in one with next year's "The Wolfman," a reimagining of the 1961 Universal horror classic; "State of Play," starring Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren; and the fourth installment of "The Fast and the Furious." She'll also find more big titles on her plate thanks to Universal's recently signed deal to distribute product from the new DreamWorks. At home, Rocco is an accomplished chef; she owns over 400 cookbooks. On her 37-year marriage, she says: "That's as much of an accomplishment as breaking the glass ceiling."