26. Ann Daly

Daly climbed to the No. 2 executive position at DreamWorks Animation the old-fashioned way -- by working like a dog. "Some of my jobs have not necessarily been high-profile, or glamorous, or fun," she laughs. A pioneer in developing the direct-to-video market during her early years at Disney, Daly has headed DreamWorks' animation and home-video operations since 1997. During her tenure, the company has produced and released the No. 1 and No. 3 top-grossing animated films of all time (2004's "Shrek 2" and 2007's "Shrek the Third," at $915 million and $799 million worldwide, respectively) along with this summer's "Kung Fu Panda," which has grossed $631 million worldwide. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" opened last month with a healthy $63.5 million domestic, and next year will come "Monsters vs. Aliens," with a fourth Shrek film by 2010. Away from the office, Daly and husband John Gustafson enjoy intense outdoor sports, but there's no letdown in focus: "At night, I like nothing better than watching one of our movies in a theater with regular folks and observing how they respond."