Great Character Actresses

1. Linda Hunt

Actress | The Year of Living Dangerously

Linda Hunt is a veteran character actress who had only just begun acting in motion pictures when director Peter Weir required her peculiarities to animate one of cinema's most esoteric characters, Billy Kwan, the intellectual and virtuous Chinese-Australian dwarf and photographer, in the Australian...

2. Karen Black

Actress | Five Easy Pieces

Karen entered Northwestern University at 18 and left two years later. She studied under Lee Strasberg in New York and worked in a number of off-Broadway roles. She made a critically acclaimed debut on Broadway in 1965 in "The Playroom". Her first big film role was in You're a Big Boy Now (1966), ...

3. Zelda Rubinstein

Actress | Poltergeist

A marvelously quirky and distinctive 4' 3" character actress, with a larger-than-life presence on film and TV, Zelda Rubinstein gave up a long and stable career in the medical field as a lab technician in order to strive for something more self-fulfilling as middle age settled in. At the age of 45,...

4. Kathleen Freeman

Actress | The Blues Brothers

Kathleen Freeman's introduction to show business came very early in life. Her parents were vaudevillians, and she made her debut at age 2 in their act. Later she attended UCLA with intentions of becoming a pianist, but was bitten by the acting bug and never looked back. She gained experience on ...

5. JoBeth Williams

Actress | Poltergeist

The product of a musical family, (Margaret) JoBeth Williams was born on December 6, 1948, in Houston, Texas, to Frances Faye (Adams), a dietitian, and Fredric Roger Williams, a wire/cable company manager and opera singer. Her father encouraged her early interest in theater during high school.

She ...

6. Glenne Headly

Actress | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

For fourteen years, she said that family was the most important thing to her and she set most of her time aside to be a "present" mother to her son. Movies, plays and television were chosen, for the most part, when they occurred in town or on a school break. She took one year to homeschool her son ...

7. Eileen Brennan

Actress | Clue

A supremely gifted, versatile player who could reach dramatic depths, as exemplified in her weary-eyed, good-hearted waitress in The Last Picture Show (1971), or comedy heights, as in her sadistic drill captain in Private Benjamin (1980), Eileen Brennan managed to transition from lovely Broadway ...

8. Melinda Dillon

Actress | Magnolia

Melinda Dillon came to prominence with the role of Jillian Guiler, a mother whose child is abducted by aliens in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Dillon's performance in the film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A few years later, Dillon ...

9. Cathy Moriarty

Actress | Raging Bull

Bronx-born character actress Cathy Moriarty was just 18 years old, fresh out of high school and had no idea that her life was about to change. Joe Pesci discovered her competing in a bathing-beauty contest at a bar. He invited her to audition for the part of Vikki LaMotta, second wife to champion ...

10. Diana Scarwid

Actress | What Lies Beneath

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Scarwid moved to New York at 17 to become an actress. Simultaneously, as an honors student, she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Pace University. She landed some small film and TV roles before her subtle performance in Inside Moves (1980) was ...

11. Nancy Allen

Actress | Dressed to Kill

Nancy Anne Allen was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, the youngest of three children. Her father, Eugene Allen, was a New York police lieutenant. At a young age, she trained for a dancing career at the High School of Performing Arts, and then attended Jose Quintano's School ...

12. Kathy Baker

Actress | Picket Fences

For someone who has made an award-winning impact in all three mediums (stage, film and TV), actress Kathy Baker has been strangely denied all-out stardom, yet continues to demonstrate her versatility in whatever material comes her way.

The comely blonde was born Katherine Whitton Baker in Midland, ...

Very prolific film and television actress who has appeared in such films as "Edward Scissorhands", "The Right Stuff", "The Cider House Rules". On television she's appeared in "Monk", "Boston Public", and "Grey's Anatomy".

13. Sondra Locke

Actress | Every Which Way But Loose

Sondra Locke was born May 28, 1944 as Sandra Louise Smith, in Shelbyville, Tennessee, a quiet little town about 60 miles southeast of Nashville. She was the daughter of Raymond Smith, a military man stationed at nearby Tullahoma, and Pauline Bayne. Smith departed the scene before Sondra's birth. In...

14. Ruth Gordon

Actress | Rosemary's Baby

When Ruth Gordon convinced her father, a sea captain, to let her pursue acting she came to New York and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She acted in a few silents made at Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1915. She made her Broadway debut in "Peter Pan" as Nibs the same year. The next 20 ...

15. Estelle Parsons

Actress | Bonnie and Clyde

The charming, witty, and immeasurably talented Estelle Parsons was born November 20, 1927 in Lynn, Massachusetts, to Elinor and Eben Parsons. She attended the Oak Grove School for Girls in Maine, and later graduated from Connecticut College in 1949. She worked as a singer with a band before she ...

16. Pamela Reed

Actress | Proof of Life

Reed began her on-screen acting career appearing as a cast regular on the CBS drama series The Andros Targets (1977), and with minor roles in the films The Long Riders (1980), and Melvin and Howard (1980). Shortly after, New York Times awarded her positive reviews for her work in the poorly ...

17. Edie McClurg

Actress | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, McClurg began her performing career at age five with the Kansas City Rhythm Kids. She retired when the dance teacher was arrested on a morals charge for "dating" the tall and lissome, yet underage, star dancer in the troupe. That girl's big number culminated with a ...

18. Carol Kane

Actress | The Princess Bride

American stage, screen and television actress, and comedian Carol Kane (b. Carolyn Laurie Kane, June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio), was born to Elaine Joy (née Fetterman), a jazz singer and pianist, and Michael Myron Kane, an architect. Her family is Jewish (from Russia, Poland, and Austria). Due ...

19. Amanda Plummer

Actress | Pulp Fiction

The daughter of Canadian actor Christopher Plummer and American actress Tammy Grimes, Amanda Plummer was born in New York City on March 23, 1957. Her breakthrough role came when she starred opposite Robin Williams in The Fisher King (1991). However, Plummer may be best remembered for her work in ...

20. Margaret Hamilton

Actress | The Wizard of Oz

Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. Margaret had already built her resume ...

21. Catherine O'Hara

Actress | A Mighty Wind

Canadian actress, writer, and comedian, Catherine O'Hara gained recognition as one of the original cast members on the Canadian television sketch comedy show SCTV (1976). On the series, she impersonated the likes of Lucille Ball, Tammy Faye Bakker, Gilda Radner, Katharine Hepburn, and Brooke Shields...

22. Jennifer Tilly

Actress | Bound

An actress who always attracts audiences' attention, Jennifer Tilly is by turns funny, sexy, compassionate, compelling and often all at once. She has been playing unforgettable characters ever since she started her career as an actress.

Jennifer Tilly was born Jennifer Ellen Chan in Harbor City, ...

23. Katharine Ross

Actress | The Graduate

Katharine Juliet Ross was born January 29, 1940, in Hollywood, CA, to Katherine (née Mullen) and Dudley Tying Ross. Her father, who had also worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, was a commander in the US Navy when she was born. His navy career shuttled the family around to Virginia, then ...

24. Carrie Snodgress

Actress | Diary of a Mad Housewife

A student of Northern Illinois University, Carrie switched to drama at Chicago's Goodman Theatre School where she won the Sarah Siddons Award as outstanding graduate. After graduating, Carrie worked in TV and also appeared in TV movies. She made her big screen debut in Rabbit, Run (1970), working ...

25. Piper Laurie

Actress | The Hustler

Piper Laurie was a three-time Oscar nominee, nominated by BAFTA as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best performance by an actress in 'The Hustler' with Paul Newman.

Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, to Charlotte Sadie (Alperin) and Alfred Jacobs, a ...

26. Lynne Thigpen

Actress | The Warriors

Multi-talented actress Lynne Thigpen was born Cherlynne Thigpen in Joliet, Illinois, on December 22, 1948. She performed in community theater and university theater productions while attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Following graduation, she taught high-school English for a...

27. Anne Ramsey

Actress | The Goonies

American character actress Anne Ramsey was born Anne Mobley in Omaha, Nebraska to Eleanor (Smith), a national treasurer of the Girl Scouts, and Nathan Mobley, an insurance executive. Her uncle was U.S. Ambassador David S. Smith. An ancestor was Mayflower Pilgrim William Brewster. She attended ...

28. P.J. Soles

Actress | Halloween

P.J. (Pamela Jayne) Soles was born on July 17, 1950 in Frankfurt, Germany. Her father came from Holland and her mother from New Jersey. Because her father was working for an international insurance company, the family moved all over the world. P.J. lived in Casablanca, Morocco, and Maracaibo, ...

29. Conchata Ferrell

Actress | Two and a Half Men

It took 30 years since it was first predicted, but Conchata Ferrell finally achieved television stardom, albeit of the supporting variety, as the housekeeper "Berta" in the situation-comedy Two and a Half Men (2003). Ferrell originally had been tipped for stardom with her turn as the prostitute "...

30. Grace Zabriskie

Actress | Inland Empire

"Amazing Grace" Zabriskie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She wrote her own original poetry, then performed at coffee shops and various artist hangouts in Atlanta. She was also a wonderful silk-screen printmaker. She moved to Hollywood and made her acting debut in Norma Rae (1979). She went on ...

31. Embeth Davidtz

Actress | Bicentennial Man

Embeth Davidtz was born on August 11, 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana. She is known for her role as Miss Honey in the film Matilda (1996).

Her parents, Jean and John Davidtz, were South Africans, with Dutch, English, and French ancestry. The family moved to Trenton, New Jersey, before returning to her ...

This lady deserves to be better known. Most will recognize her as "Miss Honey" from 1996s "Matilda", based on the Roald Dahl book. She also made appearances in two other underrated films, "13 Ghosts" and "Fallen", opposite Denzel Washington.

32. Meg Tilly

Actress | The Big Chill

Meg Tilly was set on being a dancer, and at 17 connected to the Connecticut Ballet Company and later Throne Dance Theatre. It was in this capacity that she had her screen debut in Alan Parker's Fame (1980). Unfortunately, an injury to her back cut short her plans for a dance career, and a small ...

Sister of Jennifer, Meg had excellent roles in "The Big Chill", "Agnes of God" and opposite Anthony Perkins in "Psycho II"

33. Anne Haney

Actress | Mrs. Doubtfire

Anne Haney held prominent roles acting on stage, on the screen, and on TV. All these achievements came in her mid-40s, after she had raised a daughter and buried a husband. It wasn't until after she had packed her daughter off to college and "the maid quit", as she said, that she decided to try her...

Provided some of the more memorable moments in "Lair, Lair" as Jim Carrey's overworked secretary.

34. Karen Allen

Actress | Raiders of the Lost Ark

Karen Jane Allen was born in Carrollton, rural southern Illinois, to Patricia (Howell), a teacher, and Carroll Thompson Allen, an FBI agent. She spent her first 10 years traveling around the country with her parents and two sisters. She was always "the new girl in school." Acting did not really ...

35. Frances Bay

Actress | Blue Velvet

Cute, tiny, and prolific little old lady character actress Frances Bay worked constantly in both films and TV shows alike after making her debut at the age of 59 in life with a small part in the comedy Foul Play (1978) in 1978.

She frequently portrayed eccentric elderly women and good-hearted ...

36. Marthe Keller

Actress | Marathon Man

Marthe Keller was born on January 28, 1945 in Basel, Switzerland. She studied ballet as a child but stopped after a skiing accident at age 16. She changed to acting, and worked in Berlin at the Schiller Theatre and the Berliner Ensemble.

Keller's earliest film appearances were in Funeral in Berlin (...

Particularly memorable as a terrorist opposite Bruce Dern in "Black Sunday."

37. Margaret Dumont

Actress | A Night at the Opera

Margaret Dumont would not consider it a tragedy that she is best-known for her performances as the ultimate straight woman in seven of the Marx Brothers' films (including most of their best). It is a popular myth that she never understood their jokes (offscreen and on); restored footage of ...

38. Mary McDonnell

Actress | Battlestar Galactica

Mary McDonnell is a two-time Oscar®-nominated actress, who is known for her character portrayals in both period and present-day screen roles, as well as a long history of stage and film roles.

Mary Eileen McDonnell was born on April 28, 1952 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and John ...

39. Kathleen Wilhoite

Actress | The Edge

Born in Santa Barbara, California on June 29, 1964, almond-eyed Kathleen Wilhoite grew up there and began singing in her church choir from the first grade. Two years later, she was performing on stage, as part of a back-up choir, with The Carpenters, at the Santa Barbara County Bowl. All the while,...

She was great in 'Pay It Forward" and in 1986s "Road House". I mainly remember her from the sadly underwhelming film "Murphy's Law", opposite Charles Bronson and Carrie Snodgress.

40. Shelley Duvall

Actress | The Shining

Shelley Alexis Duvall was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the first child to Bobbie Ruth (Massengale, 1929-2020), a real estate broker, and Robert Richardson Duvall (1919-1994), a lawyer. At the time of her birth, her mother was visiting her grandmother in Fort Worth, though Duvall was raised in Houston...

41. Gloria Stuart

Actress | Titanic

Gloria Stuart was born on a dining room table on 4th Street in Santa Monica, California on July 4, 1910. Her early roles as a performing artist were in plays she produced in her home as a young girl. She was the star of her senior class play at Santa Monica High School in 1927. Attending the ...

Actress who starred opposite Claude Rains in The Invisable Man during the 1930s and garnered rave reviews for her role in Titanic some sixty years later. She died at the age of 100 in 2010, joining a small list of celebrity centenarians in the acting and entertainment field.

42. CCH Pounder

Actress | The Shield

The CCH stands for Carol Christine Hilaria, her birth name. Most of her characters are enriched with positive attributes -- strength, confidence, integrity, strong-mindedness -- and it is a testament to the abilities of this four-time Emmy nominated actress that she continues on such a high plane ...

Most will remember her from "The Shield", but for my money her best role was radio host Fran Ambrose in "Psycho IV."

43. Jenny Agutter

Actress | Logan's Run

Jenny Agutter was born on December 20, 1952, in Taunton, Somerset, England, UK. The daughter of an army officer, she spent her childhood traveling and living in different countries. Her film career began at the age of 12 in East of Sudan (1964), which was quickly followed by The Magical World of ...

Her best role: Alex Price in "An American Werewolf in London" (1981.)

44. Meg Foster

Actress | They Live

Blue-eyed brunette Meg Foster was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1948 to David and Nancy. She has four siblings and grew up in Rowayton, Connecticut. Foster studied acting at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse.

Foster's first role came about in 1969, when she appeared in an episode of NET ...

Underrated role as Rutger Hauer's wife in "The Osterman Weekend" and "They Live", opposite Roddy Piper and Keith David

45. Rutanya Alda

Actress | The Deer Hunter

Rutanya Alda was born on October 13, 1942 in Riga, Latvia. She is an actress and writer, known for The Deer Hunter (1978), Mommie Dearest (1981) and Amityville II: The Possession (1982). She was previously married to Richard Bright.

46. Pam Ferris

Actress | Matilda

Pam Ferris was born on May 11, 1948 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress, known for Matilda (1996), Children of Men (2006) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). She has been married to Roger Frost since August 1986.

She'll always be the Trunchbull to me, but look for her in Children of Men in another great role.

47. Clara Blandick

Actress | The Wizard of Oz

Clara Blandick was an American actress born as Clara Dickey and born aboard an American ship off the coast of Hong Kong on June 4, 1880. Little is known about her early life until she became an actress. She grew up in Boston and first acted on stage in E.H. Sothern's 'Richard Lovelace'. Although ...

Best known as Auntie Em from the Wizard of Oz.

48. Adrienne Barbeau

Actress | Escape from New York

Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and author best known for her roles on the sitcom Maude (1972) and in horror films, especially those directed by John Carpenter, with whom she was once married. She was born on June 11, 1945 in Sacramento, California, the daughter of an executive for Mobil...

Perhaps best known to most from her John Carpenter film appearances.

49. Annie Corley

Actress | Law Abiding Citizen

Annie Corley graduated from McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, Indiana and later enrolled at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Since 1990, Annie has appeared in several films, her most notable role to date is Meryl Streep's on-screen daughter in The Bridges of Madison County (1995). She ...

Terrific in her role as Christina Ricci's overwhelmed aunt in "Monster". Corley was also one of the bright spots in the 2002 *beep* "Juwanna Mann" (Kevin Pollak is the other one.)

50. Reta Shaw

Actress | Mary Poppins

Reta Shaw is best known to television audiences as Hope Lange's housekeeper in the TV series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968). Disney fans will remember her as one of the singing domestics in the Oscar-winning masterpiece Mary Poppins (1964). While she never achieved stardom as a leading lady, she ...

She may have appeared in Mary Poppins but I always have remembered her from her appearances on the Andy Griffith Show (amongst other small screen roles.)

51. Mary Kay Place

Actress | Being John Malkovich

Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series....

52. Kay Lenz

Actress | House

Born Kay Ann Lenz on March 4, 1953, the comely, pert-nosed, dark-haired, award-winning actress came from an L.A. showbiz family -- her father being producer/commentator Ted Lenz and her mother model/radio engineer Kay Miller Lenz. At the ripe old age of eight weeks, Kay appeared on her first TV ...

Memorable roles in Rich Man Poor Man and the sadly underwhelming Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, alongside Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, Ollie Reed and Sylvia Miles.

53. Collin Wilcox Paxton

Actress | To Kill a Mockingbird

Actress Collin Wilcox extended her given name twice over the duration of her professional acting career -- billing herself as Collin Wilcox-Horne and Collin Wilcox Paxton, to be exact. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Highlands, North Carolina, and her interest in theater was sparked ...

54. Tovah Feldshuh

Actress | Just My Luck

Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for Holocaust and Law & Order, and appeared in such films as A Walk on the Moon, ...

55. Jane Alexander

Actress | Kramer vs. Kramer

Angular in features, reserved in demeanor and more-or-less plaintive in appearance, actress Jane Alexander has played down the glamour card for the most part. Her true brilliance has come from the remarkable range and depth of her talent. Heralded as one of the finest 70s actresses to arrive in ...

Mainly remembered for her debut film performance in "The Great White Hope" opposite James Earl Jones, and for her turn opposite Robert Redford in 1980s "Brubaker".

56. Amy Wright

Actress | The Amityville Horror

One of those dazzling chameleon players who never received their due, Amy Wright is still woefully unrecognized despite a superb resumé of Southern-styled film credits since the late 70s. On the other side of the coin, she has certainly made a distinct name for herself in the theater world as the ...

Oustanding in Wise Blood, and also look for her in small roles in Breaking Away and the Deer Hunter, all released between 1978-79.

57. Persis Khambatta

Actress | Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Persis Khambatta was born on October 2, 1948 in Bombay, India. When aged 16, as Femina Miss India, she entered Miss Universe 1965, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. Khambatta became a model for companies such as Revlon. Her biggest acting break was getting the role of ...

Played Lt. Illia in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1979 and two years later played Rutger Hauer's fellow terrorist in the sadly underrated film "Nighthawks".

58. Frances Lee McCain

Actress | Back to the Future

Frances Lee McCain was born on July 28, 1944 in York, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress, known for Back to the Future (1985), Gremlins (1984) and Footloose (1984).

59. Ellen Albertini Dow

Actress | The Wedding Singer

The multifaceted Ellen Albertini was a student of dance and piano at the age of five, and obtained a B.A. and M.A. in theater from Cornell University. She moved to New York, and studied and worked with the legendary likes of Hanya Holm, Martha Graham, Michael Shurtleff, Uta Hagen, Marcel Marceau, ...

Little old lady actress who appeared as the "rapping granny" in Adam Sandler's "The Wedding Singer", one of the few good things about the film IMHO.

60. Estelle Winwood

Actress | The Producers

When Estelle saw the girl on a white horse at the circus, she then decided that she wanted to be an actress. And she was from the age of 5, to the disapproval of her father. Her mother had her train with the Liverpool Repertory Company, and Estelle performed in many plays and many roles in the West...

"Hold Me, Touch Me" in the Producers who lived to the astounding age of 101.

61. Kathryn Joosten

Actress | Wedding Crashers

Kathryn is best known for her portrayals of "Karen McCluskey" on Desperate Housewives (2004) on ABC and of "Mrs. Landingham", secretary to the President (Martin Sheen), on the critically-acclaimed NBC drama, The West Wing (1999). She has also recurred on Dharma & Greg (1997), and guest-starred ...

Has popped up on all sorts of T.V shows, including, "The X-Files", "Picket Fences", "Dharma and Greg", "The West Wing" and most recently, her recurring role on "Desperate Housewives."

62. Nancy Parsons

Actress | Porky's

Nancy Parsons was born in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, to Mary Margaret née Samsa and Charles Walter Parsons. She had two siblings -- Mary Jean Parsons and Theresa Mae Macrae née Parsons. When she was seventeen, her father remarried Genevieve Stack and moved with the three girls to South Pasadena, ...

63. Darlene Cates

Actress | What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Cates' acting career ignited after she appeared on an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael (1983), titled "Too Heavy to Leave Their House". Shortly after, author and screenwriter Peter Hedges proposed to her that she play Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio's morbidly obese and housebound mother in What's ...

This lady should appear in more films. Her performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape was particularly memorable. She also starred in the USA network movie "Wolf Girl", opposite Tim Curry and Grace Jones.