Explore
Forums
Join Listal
Movies
TV Shows
DVDs
Music
Books
Games
Lists
Reviews
Images
Leading Ladies:The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses
 7.8 Frank Capra called her his favorite actress for the depth and humanity she brought to her comedic roles, but it was her husky, tremulous voice that spun her gentle kookiness into gold.
Essential Films Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936, Columbia You Can't Take It With You 1938, Columbia Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939, Columbia The Talk of the Town 1942, Columbia The More the Merrier 1943, Columbia 
8.2 An overnight sensation in her first film, To Have and Have Not, publicists dubbed her "The Look" but it was really the whole package - the sultry glance, the husky voice, and the brash attitude.
Essential Films To Have and Have Not 1944, Warner Bros. The Big Sleep 1946, Warner Bros. Dark Passage 1947, Warner Bros. Key Largo 1948, Warner Bros. How to Marry a Millionaire 1953, 20th Century Fox 
8.4 Forever remembered as Casablanca's luminous Ilsa Lund, she radiated a truth and goodness that she found hard to escape even in her most controversial roles.
Essential Films Intermezzo 1939, Swedish Film Productions/Scandinavian Talking Pictures Casablanca 1942, Warner Bros. Gaslight 1944, MGM Notorious 1946, RKO Anastasia 1956, 20th Century Fox 
7.4 Hollywood's first "It" girl, she was a come-hither goddess with enough energy and charm to light every soundstage in Hollywood.
Essential Films Mantrap 1926, Paramount It 1927, Paramount Wings 1927, Paramount Dangerous Curves 1929, Paramount The Saturday Night Kid 1929, Paramount 
7.9 Beautiful, headstrong, and erotically charged, she and her sleek, bobbed hairstyle defined the 1920s flapper just as her meteoric rise and fall mirrored the fortunes of the Lost Generation.
Essential Films A Social Celebrity 1926, Paramount Love 'Em and Leave 'Em 1926, Paramount Pandora's Box 1928, Nero-Film Diary of a Lost Girl 1929, Horn Films/Pabst Film Miss Europe 1930, Sofar-Film 
7.9 She had true grace and class and radiated European chic, but it was her spunk and clever wit that made her accessible to all.
Essential Films The Sign of the Cross 1932, Paramount It Happened One Night 1934, Columbia Midnight 1939, Paramount The Palm Beach Story 1942, Paramount Since You Went Away 1944, United Artists 
8 From flappers to self-sacrificing mothers to horror film divas, she kept her career going for half a century thanks to her ability to change with the times, but off screen her devotion to Hollywood glamor and the demands of stardom never wavered.
Essential Films Grand Hotel 1932, MGM Rain 1932, United Artists Mildred Pierce 1945, Warner Bros. Possessed 1947, Warner Bros. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962, Warner Bros. 
7.3 For years overshadowed by her love affair with tycoon William Randolph Hearst, her magnificent gifts as a comedienne are finally earning the accolades they deserve.
Essential Films Enchantment 1921, Cosmopolitan/Paramount Janice Meredith 1924, Cosmopolitan/MGM Quality Street 1927, Cosmopolitan/MGM Show People 1928, Cosmopolitan/MGM The Patsy 1928, Cosmopolitan/MGM 
8.2 She famously gave a "bumpy ride" to directors, co-stars, and studio executives alike, bringing audiences a new kind of screen heroine, as tough as any man.
Essential Films Jezebel 1938, Warner Bros. Dark Victory 1939, Warner Bros. The Letter 1940, Warner Bros. Now, Voyager 1942, Warner Bros. All About Eve 1950, 20th Century Fox 
7.3 The girl next door of every man's dreams and the woman every girl dreamed of befriending, her trademark chic and feisty career-woman characters helped Rock Hudson take the romantic sex comedy to penthouse heights.
Essential Films Calamity Jane 1953, Warner Bros. Love Me or Leave Me 1955, MGM The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956, Paramount The Pajama Game 1957, Warner Bros. Pillow Talk 1959, Universal 
8 The original steel magnolia, her Melanie in Gone With the Wind reflected both her beauty and her strength, but when she sued Warner Bros. to be freed from her contract and won, she changed the studio system forever.
Essential Films The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938, Warner Bros. Gone With the Wind 1939, MGM To Each His Own 1946, Paramount The Snake Pit 1948, 20th Century Fox The Heiress 1949, Paramount 
8 Famously androgynous and eternally exotic, this leggy German beauty dazzled audiences on-screen and off with her carefully contrived and controlled image as an icon of forbidden passions and daring love.
Essential Films The Blue Angel 1930, UFA Morocco 1930, Paramount Shanghai Express 1932, Paramount Destry Rides Again 1939, Universal Witness for the Prosecution 1957, United Artists 
7.8 A classically trained singer with great versatility, her lyrical inflections and subtle charms added a unique spark to all of her roles.
Essential Films Show Boat 1936, Universal The Awful Truth 1937, Columbia Love Affair 1939, RKO Life With Father 1947, Warner Bros. I Remember Mama 1948, RKO 
8 One of the most flawless faces and intense women in movie history, with a whiskey-and-cigarettes voice and a mysterious, elusive quality captured forever in her famous line from Grand Hotel, "I vant to be alone."
Essential Films Flesh and the Devil 1926, MGM Grand Hotel 1932, MGM Queen Christina 1933, MGM Camille 1936, MGM Ninotchka 1939, MGM 
8 Exotic and exuding raw sex appeal, she was pure sensuality wrapped in the form of an earthy goddess, an intoxicating mix of vitality and vulnerability.
Essential Films The Killers 1946, Universal Show Boat 1951, MGM Mogambo 1953, MGM The Barefoot Contessa 1954, United Artists The Night of the Iguana 1964, MGM 
8 The combination of her incomparable voice and emotional fragility could turn even a lighthearted musical into a powerful work of art.
Essential Films The Wizard of Oz 1939, MGM Babes in Arms 1939, MGM Meet Me in St. Louis 1944, MGM Summer Stock 1950, MGM A Star Is Born 1954, Warner Bros. 
7.6 A beautiful redhead with emerald eyes, she inspired legions of fans during World War II with quietly selfless, always relatable home-front heroines who kept their heads during the perils of war.
Essential Films Pride and Prejudice 1940, MGM Mrs. Miniver 1942, MGM Random Harvest 1942, MGM Mrs. Parkington 1944, MGM Julia Misbehaves 1948, MGM 
8.2 One of the matriarchs of cinema, she virtually invented Method acting on film by using her ethereal beauty to reveal complex internal struggles with simple, subtle gestures and expressions.
Essential Films Broken Blossoms 1919, United Artists Orphans of the Storm 1922, United Artists La Boheme 1926, MGM The Scarlet Letter 1926, MGM The Wind 1928, MGM 
7.6 When an overzealous hairdresser dyed her hair platinum, the Blonde Bombshell was born, but it was her smarts and sass that made her a star during a tragically short, but legendary, career.
Essential Films Red-Headed Woman 1932, MGM Red Dust 1932, MGM Bombshell 1933, MGM Dinner at Eight 1933, MGM Libeled Lady 1936, MGM 
7.5 The flame haired Brooklyn beauty, part hard-boiled sex goddess and part tenacious workhorse, set fire to 1950s cinema with her gutsy portrayals of women way over the edge.
Essential Films Smash Up: The Story of a Woman 1947, Universal My Foolish Heart 1949, RKO With a Song in My Heart 1952, 20th Century Fox I'll Cry Tomorrow 1955, MGM I Want to Live! 1958, United Artists 
8.2 Forever immortalized as Gilda doing a mock striptease in a black strapless satin gown, she was christened "the Love Goddess" by the press, and World War II soldiers made her their pinup queen.
Essential Films You Were Never Lovelier 1942, Columbia Cover Girl 1944, Columbia Gilda 1946, Columbia The Lady from Shanghai 1948, Columbia Pal Joey 1957, Columbia 
8.7 Elegant and angelic, she has enchanted generations. Whether she played a princess, a nun, or an iconic Manhattanite, she infused each of her characters with a bit of her own humanity and charm.
Essential Films Roman Holiday 1953, Paramount Sabrina 1954, Paramount Funny Face 1957, Paramount Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961, Paramount Charade 1963, Universal 
8.5 Her dramatic depths and independent spirit were the constants of her career, starting with her insistence on playing tough, hard-headed women. She became the ultimate "battle of the sexes" heroine.
Essential Films Bringing Up Baby 1938, RKO The Philadelphia Story 1940, MGM Woman of the Year 1942, MGM The African Queen 1951, United Artists The Lion in Winter 1968, AVCO Embassy 
6.7 An earthy beauty and an incredible talent, she fought to over-come racial stereotypes and limitations and became Hollywood's first glamorous African American star.
Essential Films The Duke Is Tops 1938, Million Dollar Productions Cabin in the Sky 1943, MGM Stormy Weather 1943, 20th Century Fox Swing Fever 1943, MGM Broadway Rhythm 1944, MGM 
8.2 From high society to Hollywood stardom to royal life in Monaco, she was the ultimate blue-blood blonde, a fairy-tale princess who seemed born to her official title, "Her Serene Highness."
Essential Films High Noon 1952, United Artists Dial M For Murder 1954, Warner Bros. Rear Window 1954, Paramount To Catch a Thief 1955, Paramount High Society 1956, MGM 
7.6 Delightfully proper on screen, with an engaging, ladylike voice, she had an impeccable grace and fair beauty that belied the discipline and the intense dedication she brought to her craft as an actress.
Essential Films Black Narcissus 1947, Universal From Here to Eternity 1953, Columbia The King and I 1956, 20th Century Fox An Affair to Remember 1957, 20th Century Fox The Innocents 1961, 20th Century Fox 
8 She once claimed, "Any girl can be glamorous, all you have to do is stand still and look stupid." But behind her beauty and glamorous exterior was a keen intelligence and a great inventive mind.
Essential Films Extase 1933, Ceskoslovensky Filmexport H. M. Pulman, Esq. 1941, MGM Tortilla Flat 1942, MGM The Conspirators 1944, Warner Bros. Samson and Delilah 1949, Paramount 
8.2 The two most famous Southern belles in history (Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois) were played by a British actress whose black hair and catlike green eyes barely masked the determination she shared with her most memorable characters.
Essential Films Gone With the Wind 1939, MGM Waterloo Bridge 1940, MGM A Streetcar Named Desire 1951, Warner Bros. The Deep Blue Sea 1955, 20th Century Fox Ship of Fools 1965, Columbia 
8.1 She brought a tomboy's enthusiasm and a vixen's curves to the screen, tools that captured the physicality and wit of screwball romantic comedy and made her one of the most beloved stars of the 1930s.
Essential Films No Man of Her Own 1932, Paramount Twentieth Century 1934, Columbia My Man Godfrey 1936, Universal Mr. and Mrs. Smith 1941, RKO To Be Or Not to Be 1942, United Artists 
7.8 A sensation when she hit the American screen, the voluptuous Italian goddess came to life with a feisty realism and a regal sensuality that never seems to age.
Essential Films Houseboat 1958, Paramount Two Women 1960, Embassy Pictures Corp. El Cid 1961, Allied Artists Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1963, Embassy Marriage, Italian Style 1964, Embassy 
8.1 Confident, sophisticated, whip smart, and equipped with a wit as dry as the martinis she favored in her films, she had a gift for nuance and comedic timing.
Essential Films The Thin Man 1934, MGM Libeled Lady 1936, MGM The Best Years of Our Lives 1946, RKO The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer 1947, RKO Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948, RKO 
7.6 She brought a unique hyrbid image to the screen: part kooky comedienne, part natural dramatic actress. Her tender, funny performances built a bridge between 1950s repression and 1960s rebellion.
Essential Films Some Came Running 1958, MGM The Apartment 1960, United Artists Irma La Douce 1963, United Artists Sweet Charity 1969, Universal Term of Endearment 1983, Paramount 
8.2 Perhaps the greatest sex symbol of our time, with a blend of sexual confidence and childlike vulnerability that fired imaginations and inspired a worshipful protectiveness from generations of fans.
Essential Films Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953, 20th Century Fox How to Marry a Millionaire 1953, 20th Century Fox The Seven Year Itch 1955, 20th Century Fox Bus Stop 1956, 20th Century Fox Some Like It Hot 1959, United Artists 
7.6 One of the most enigmatic sex symbols of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and one of the last studio-made stars, she was blonde and beautiful, all passionate heat blanketed with intellectual chilliness.
Essential Films Picnic 1955, Columbia The Man With the Golden Arm 1955, United Artists Vertigo 1958, Paramount Bell, Book and Candle 1958, Columbia Kiss Me, Stupid 1964, Lopert 
7.6 Hollywood's ultimate Irish lass, she was a flame-haired beauty with a spirit that made her a match for her larger-than-life screen partners John Wayne and John Ford.
Essential Films The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1939, RKO How Green Was My Valley 1941, 20th Century Fox The Black Swan 1942, 20th Century Fox Miracle on 34th Street 1947, 20th Century Fox The Quiet Man 1952, Republic 
7.4 Often known simply as "America's Sweetheart," she was a smart, tough negotiator who took charge of her career and almost single-handedly invented celebrity in Hollywood.
Essential Films Stella Maris 1918, Artcraft Pollyanna 1920, United Artists Little Lord Fauntleroy 1921, United Artists Sparrows 1926, United Artists Coquette 1929, United Artists 
7.4 She was fresh faced, bubbly, and utterly wholesome, but behind the sugar was plenty of spice: a determined and accomplished singer, dancer, actress, and stage artist with a survivor's spirit.
Essential Films Singin' in the Rain 1952, MGM The Tender Trap 1955, MGM The Catered Affair 1956, MGM Tammy and the Bachelor 1957, Universal The Unsinkable Molly Brown 1964, MGM 
8 She may be best remembered dancing in the arms of longtime partner Fred Astaire - but she was also stellar in the romantic comedies and dramatic roles she embraced.
Essential Films Top Hat 1935, RKO Swing Time 1936, RKO Stage Door 1937, RKO Kitty Foyle 1940, RKO The Major and the Minor 1942, Paramount 
7.8 Smart and quick-witted, she set the standard for a new office archetype: the busy, never ruffled, and always-on-top-of-it modern working woman.
Essential Films Night Must Fall 1937, MGM The Women 1939, MGM His Girl Friday 1940, Columbia Auntie Mame 1958, Warner Bros. Gypsy 1962, Warner Bros. 
7 A determined woman who willed herself to be beautiful, she boned her sense of style as seriously as she did her acting and took enormous chances to play modern, sexually charged women.
Essential Films Their Own Desire 1929, MGM The Divorcee 1930, MGM Smilin' Through 1932, MGM Marie Antoinette 1938, MGM The Women 1939, MGM 
7.5 Thanks to her breezy sex appeal, pinup curves, and love of a good time, she was christened "the Oomph Girl," a playful name for an actress with a prolific career.
Essential Films The Man Who Came to Dinner 1941, Warner Bros. Kings Row 1942, Warner Bros. Shine On, Harvest Moon 1944, Warner Bros. Nora Prentiss 1947, Warner Bros. I Was a Male War Bride 1949, 20th Century Fox 
8.2 She talked tough, worked hard, and was a little rough around the edges, but her ability to imbue a part with unflinching emotional commitment made her a star.
Essential Films Stella Dallas 1937, United Artists The Lady Eve 1941, Paramount Ball of Fire 1941, RKO Double Indemnity 1944, Paramount Sorry, Wrong Number 1948, Paramount 
7.6 A glamorous and iconic silent star, forever remembered for her legendary, gutsy comeback in a film made thirty years after her heyday, Sunset Blvd.
Essential Films Sadie Thompson 1928, United Artists Queen Kelly 1928, United Artists The Trespasser 1929, United Artists Father Takes a Wife 1941, RKO Sunset Blvd. 1950, Paramount 
8.1 Beginning with her screen debut at age ten, she has riveted audiences with her stunning beauty, violet eyes, and emotional depth; she is a legend for the ages - the quintessential movie star.
Essential Films Father of the Bride 1950, MGM A Place in the Sun 1951, Paramount Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958, MGM Suddenly, Last Summer 1959, Columbia Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966, Warner Bros. 
8.3 One of the great beauties of the 1940s and 1950s, she lit up the screen with her stunning green eyes and beautifully sculpted face - but it was her performance in the haunting noir classic Laura that proved unforgettable.
Essential Films Heaven Can Wait 1943, 20th Century Fox Laura 1944, 20th Century Fox Leave Her to Heaven 1945, 20th Century Fox The Razor's Edge 1946, 20th Century Fox The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947, 20th Century Fox 
7.9 Early in her career, she was known as "the Sweater Girl," a teasing, fun-loving blonde bombshell who grew up to become the benchmark for Hollywood glamour.
Essential Films Ziegfeld Girl 1941, MGM The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946, MGM The Bad and the Beautiful 1952, MGM Peyton Place 1957, 20th Century Fox Imitation of Life 1959, Universal 
7.2 With a swish of the hips, a roll of the eyes, and a saucy "Come up sometime, see me," she earned the title "the Empress of Sex," and did it all through suggestion, often in period gowns that covered her from head to toe.
Essential Films She Done Him Wrong 1933, Universal I'm No Angel 1933, Paramount Belle of the Nineties 1934, Paramount Klondike Annie 1936, Paramount Every Day's a Holiday 1937, Paramount 
7.2 MGM's Million Dollar Mermaid, she created the aquatic musical and made history with astounding athletic stunts and a glamorous approach to swimwear that made her an All-American dream girl.
Essential Films Bathing Beauty 1944, MGM Neptune's Daughter 1949, MGM Million Dollar Mermaid 1952, MGM Dangerous When Wet 1953, MGM Easy to Love 1953, MGM 
8 She morphed effortlessly from the sweetest of child stars to a captivating and vulnerable young woman in performances that epitomized the complex generation coming of age in the 1950s.
Essential Films Rebel Without a Cause 1955, Warner Bros. West Side Story 1961, United Artists Splendor in the Grass 1961, Warner Bros. Love With a Proper Stranger 1963, Paramount Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice 1969, Columbia 
7.3 From the twilight of silent films to the dawn of television's Golden Age, she graced the screen with her ladylike charm, her liquid, luminous eyes peering out from more than one hundred films.
Essential Films Kentucky 1938, 20th Century Fox The Stranger 1946, RKO The Farmer's Daughter 1947, RKO The Bishop's Wife 1947, RKO Come to the Stable 1949, 20th Century Fox |
People who voted for this also voted for
