The All Time Best Actresses Cum Moviestars In The History Of Cinema
by DareDevilKid | created - 25 Oct 2010 | updated - 03 Jan 2015 | PublicIf I have four or more movies of an actress, which I consider classics & on my all time favourites list; & if I keep viewing those movies again because of the actress, besides the direction, story & technical aspects; & also if I anticipate a particular actress' movies irrespective of her recent works' critical or commercial acclaim, then that actress to me is one of my all time favoutites. In my view, this makes her a brilliant actress plus a superstar, hence the unique title of my list.
I know I've left out many other all time greats which may have made other peoples' list. So a worthy mention for these artists is also in order: Julia Roberts, Audery Hepburn, Sridevi, Hema Malini, Madhubala, Vyjantimala, Sharmila Tagore, Dimple Kappadia, Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Swanson, Meg Ryan, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Urmila Mataondkar, Priyanka Chopra, Grace Kelly, Giulietta Masina, Faye Dunnaway, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Eva Marie Saint, Nutan, Kate Winslet, Cate Blachette, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Ingrid Bergman, Jeanne Moreau, Julie Christie, Helen Mirren, Glenda Jackson, Rosalind Russell, & maybe some others who are just not coming to mind as of this moment.
But this is my list & I'm backing up every actor on this list with ample evidence of his classic movies & legendary performances, so here goes:
1. Bette Davis
Actress | All About Eve
Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Ruth Augusta (Favor) and Harlow Morrell Davis, a patent attorney. Her parents divorced when she was 10. She and her sister were raised by their mother. Her early interest was dance. To Bette, dancers led a glamorous life, but...
All About Eve (1950), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Letter (1940), The Petrified Forest (1936), Dangerous (1935)
2. Meryl Streep
Actress | Out of Africa
Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...
The Bridges of Madison County (1995), The Iron Lady (2011), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Silkwood (1983)
3. Madhuri Dixit
Actress | Dil To Pagal Hai
Madhuri Dixit is one of the most acclaimed actors and Kathak dancers Bollywood have ever witnessed. Born in a Marathi Brahmin Koknastha family to Mr. Shankar and Mrs. Snehlata, Madhuri Dixit has two sisters Rupa, Bharti, and brother Ajit. She performed decently well in her academics and aspired to ...
Pukar (2000), Parinda (1989), Mrityu Dand (1997), Aaja Nachle (2007), Beta (1992)
4. Kajol
Actress | Fanaa
Kajol Devgn is a well-known Bollywood actress known for her exceptional performances on screen. She attended St. Joseph's Convent School in Panchgani and was actively involved in extra-curricular activities such as dancing. In her early teens, Kajol was supposed to make her debut as an actress in a...
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Baazigar (1993), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham(2001), My Name Is Khan (2010), Gupt (1997)
5. Jodie Foster
Actress | The Silence of the Lambs
Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In 1975 Jodie was offered the role of prostitute Iris Steensma in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received ...
The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Taxi Driver (1976), Inside Man (2006), The Accused (1988), Contact (1997)
6. Nargis
Actress | Mother India
Nargis was born on June 1, 1929 as Fatima Rashid in Rawalpindi, British India, daughter to Jaddanbai and Uttamchand Mohanchand, a former Hindu Mohyal Brahmin who converted to Islam as Abdul Rashid. Her mother was a well-known dancer, singer, actor, composer, and director. This is what paved the way...
Awaara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), Mother India (1957), Adalat (1958)
7. Katharine Hepburn
Actress | The Lion in Winter
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut to a suffragist, Katharine Martha (Houghton), and a doctor, Thomas Norval Hepburn, who both always encouraged her to speak her mind, develop it fully, and exercise her body to its full potential. An athletic tomboy as a ...
Guess Who's Coming To DInner (1967), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Rooster Cogburn (1975), Adam's Rib (1949)
8. Sandra Bullock
Producer | The Proposal
Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Her mother, Helga Bullock (née Helga Mathilde Meyer), was a German opera singer. Her father, John W. Bullock, was an American voice teacher, who was born in Alabama, of German descent. Sandra grew up on the road ...
Speed (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), The Blind Side (2009), The Heat (2013), Miss Congeniality (2000)
9. Vidya Balan
Actress | Kahaani
Vidya was born in Palghat, Kerala, India. Her family consists of her dad, P.R. Balan, who is the Vice-President of ETC Channel; mom - a home-maker, and an elder sister, Priya, who is married to Kedar. She also has an aunt by the name of Raji Raju.
The Balan family re-located to live at Road No. 11, ...
Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Guru (2007), Kahaani (2012), The Dirty Picture (2011), Ishqiya (2010), Bobby Jasoos (2014)
10. Sridevi
Actress | English Vinglish
Sridevi was born on August 13, 1963 in her father's hometown of Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India. Her mother was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. So Sridevi grew up speaking Telugu and Tamil. She has a sister named Srilatha and a stepbrother named Satish. Her dad passed away during the year 1991, while ...
Mr. India (1987), English Vinglish (2012), Chaalbaaz (1989), Sadma (1983), Chandni (1989)
11. Jennifer Lawrence
Actress | The Hunger Games
As the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016, and with her films grossing over $5.5 billion worldwide, Jennifer Lawrence is often cited as the most successful actress of her generation. She is also the first person born in the 1990s to have won an acting Oscar.
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence...
X-Men: First Class (2011), American Hustle (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Winter's Bone (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
12. Sigourney Weaver
Actress | Alien Resurrection
Sigourney Weaver has created a host of memorable characters, both dramatic and comic, ranging from Ripley in Alien to Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist to Gwen/Tawny in Galaxy Quest and most recently, 14-year-old Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water. With a career spanning over 50 years, Weaver has ...
Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Avatar (2009), Paul (2011), Galaxy Quest (1999), The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
13. Naomi Watts
Actress | Mulholland Dr.
Naomi Ellen Watts was born on September 28, 1968 in Shoreham, England to Myfanwy Edwards "Miv" (Roberts), an antiques dealer and costume/set designer, and Peter Watts (Peter Anthony Watts), Pink Floyd's road manager. Her maternal grandfather was Welsh. Her father died when she was seven and she ...
King Kong (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), The Ring (2002), The Impossible (2012)
14. Amy Adams
Actress | Arrival
Amy Lou Adams was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy, to American parents, Kathryn (Hicken) and Richard Kent Adams, a U.S. serviceman who was stationed at Caserma Ederle in Italy at the time. She was raised in a Mormon family of seven children in Castle Rock, Colorado, and has English, as well as ...
The Fighter (2010), American Hustle (2013), Enchanted (2007), The Muppets (2011)
15. Angelina Jolie
Actress | Maleficent
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress who rose to fame after her role in Girl, Interrupted (1999), playing the title role in the "Lara Croft" blockbuster movies, as well as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), Salt (2010) and Maleficent (2014). Off-screen, Jolie has become ...
Kung Fu Panda (2008), Maleficent (2014), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Salt (2010), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Wanted (2008), The Tourist (2010)
Tell Your Friends