123 Cream of the crop
(PW) the best of a group, top-choice
This university only accepts the cream of the crop.
(about) the top choice; very best
Explanation: Used when speaking about the absolute best of a category.
Examples: We decided to buy the cream of the crop and spent a lot of money. - He's the cream of the crop, you won't find anyone more suited to this particular job.
(your) The best or choicest of anything, as in:
The apples from this orchard are definitely the cream of the crop.
The noun cream has been used to mean “the best” since the 16th century. The French equivalent of the present term, la crème de la crème (“the cream of the cream”) was familiar in English by 1800.
(usingEnglish) The cream of the crop is the best there is.
(Englishclub)
Meaning: If something or someone is in the cream of the crop, they are among the best of a class of things or people.
The cream of the crop of this year's high-school graduates will get into the best universities, as usual.
We're only interested in the cream of the crop, so don't send us any second-rate samples.
(wordreference)
In non-processed dairy products, cream rises to the top, so cream has come to mean "the top", or "the best". If a farmer sells only the best corn out of his entire crop to me, I would say, "He sold me the cream of the crop."
When we say "cream of the crop" we mean "the best of the group." In the context of your quote, Mischa Barton is among the best of the actresses in her generation [group].
