Actress Julianne Moore has been named as the new face of Talbots. The 49-year-old replaces supermodel Linda Evangelista as the face of the women's clothing brand for their Spring 2011 campaign, starring in an advertising campaign and a catalogue.

"Julianne Moore. I've been dying to say those two words for two months. What I love about Julianne Moore is that she's a natural beauty-she's a true American beauty. She will make our brand feel modern, which is what the 40-ish woman is. She's effortless-an effortless beauty," Talbots chief creative officer Michael Smaldone said at his latest signing.

He also said he hopes Julianne will be less "severe" than Linda, adding, "A lot of women recognized Linda Evangelista as a woman they knew. The reaction was tremendously positive. We wanted it to be dramatic - we wanted it to turn a lot of heads, which it did. We were more severe on purpose . I think Julianne Moore will soften our look."

Julianne has previously modelled for designer Tom Ford and starred in a series of ads for fashion brand Bvlgari, where she posed naked with a handbag and lion cubs, which were banned in Venice, Italy, for being too racy. Linda's Fall/Winter 2010 campaign was used to re-launch the brand. Julianne will shoot the photos for the brand this week with photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.