AFI's 25 Greatest Female Screen Legends

Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars is a list of the top 50 stars of American cinema. They were presented by 50 stars of today, adding up to the total of 100 stars. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 16, 1999.

The list was revealed on a CBS special hosted by Shirley Temple Black.

According to the AFI's rules, the stars on the list had to have made their film debuts in or before 1950 or have died prior to the creation of the list, which is why actors such as Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Clint Eastwood, and Paul Newman did not qualify as nominees, having made their debut a little after 1950. The list is thus heavily weighted toward actors of classical Hollywood cinema, and many more recent stars are not included. Of the 50 stars listed below, only Kirk Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren are still alive, as of 2008. At the time that the list was compiled, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck and Katharine Hepburn were also living. James Dean and Grace Kelly are the only actors in the list whose career started after 1950.

26 individual stars won a competitive acting Academy Award and another 16 received at least a nomination. Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin won competitively in different category. Welles won in writing for Citizen Kane and Chaplin won for composing the music in Limelight. 11 Stars were given a Special, Honorary or Lifetime Achievement Award, including the nomination-less Buster Keaton and Edward G. Robinson (posthumously). Two actresses received an Academy Juvenile Award: Shirley Temple and Judy Garland. 4 actresses were not recognized by the Academy in any form: Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Mae West and Marilyn Monroe.

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