starlet

Noun

starlet (plural starlets)

1. A young actress with a promising career ahead of her.
   • There were other flapper-era starlets, of course—Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo—but they were poseurs by comparison.2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 25
2. An accomplished and important supporting player in a sports team.
   • As Mourinho also entered the press room while most journalists were still watching the players’ lap of honour, nothing could be confirmed about the condition of Pogba, who scored United’s second goal and the Portuguese declined a chance to praise some fine performances from his starlets, with Josh...2017 May 20, Jamie Jackson, “Josh Harrop sets Manchester United on way to win over Crystal Palace”, in the Guardian
3. (poetic) A small star.
   • It e'en the semblance of sound's softest echo Were to compare the faintest starlet's beam, Struggling through angry clouds its misty Ray, With the all-powerful Sun's meridian ray, Dazzling the gaze of nature — doth pervade The atmosphere, as 'twere a whisper's shadow Or breathing soft disembodied...1854, The Ladies' Companion, page 246
   • As I saw the love-light beam From her radiant eyes, more glorious far Than the starlet's nightly gleam :1859, The Knickerbocker - Volume 54, page 385