Female Actors With Most Credits
We all have our favorite actors. Some we remember because of their great performances but others who’ve appeared in many films are sometimes forgotten.
Here is a list of some of the mainstream female actors with the most credits to their name.
Which female actor do you think has had the most impactful career?
Vote for Most Acting Credits: Actors and Actors (Deceased)
Discuss the poll here
Here is a list of some of the mainstream female actors with the most credits to their name.
Which female actor do you think has had the most impactful career?
Vote for Most Acting Credits: Actors and Actors (Deceased)
Discuss the poll here
List activity
2.8K views
• 13 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
35 people
- Bess Flowers was born on 23 November 1898 in Sherman, Texas, USA. She was an actress, known for We Faw Down (1928), The Shadow (1937) and Sinister Hands (1932). She was married to William S. Holman and Cullen Tate. She died on 28 July 1984 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.971 Actress Credits
- Actress
Sukumari was a legendary Indian actress, widely regarded as one of the most versatile and accomplished artists in the South Indian film industry. She was born in Nagercoil, Travancore, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India), as Sukumari Bhimsingh.
With a career spanning over six decades, Sukumari showcased her remarkable talent in more than 2,500 films in various languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. She made her acting debut at the age of 10 in the Tamil film "Or Iravu" in 1951, directed by D. Yoganand. Sukumari's dedication and proficiency in multiple languages allowed her to become an indispensable part of the Indian film fraternity.
Known for her exceptional versatility, Sukumari effortlessly portrayed a wide range of characters, from poignant and emotional roles to comedic and character-driven performances. She collaborated with some of the most eminent directors and actors in the industry, earning accolades for her contributions to cinema.
Apart from her work in films, Sukumari also made a mark in the television industry with memorable roles in popular series. Her impeccable acting skills and captivating screen presence earned her numerous awards, including the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her performance in the film "Samantha" (1973).
Sukumari's enduring legacy goes beyond her acting prowess; she was also a trained classical dancer and a respected academician. She authored several books on various subjects, showcasing her intellectual depth.
The iconic actress left an indelible impact on the South Indian film industry, and her body of work continues to be celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Sukumari's remarkable career came to a close on March 26, 2013, when she passed away at the age of 72. Despite her physical absence, her contributions to Indian cinema and her legacy as a multifaceted artist remain alive through the timeless performances she delivered throughout her illustrious career.831 Actress Credits- Actress
- Music Department
- Writer
Grey Griffin was born in Fort Ord, California. She is a singer and well-known voice actress. She was raised by her grandmother through her difficult childhood because her mother was a drug addict. Her grandmother was a singer and performed often with Tito Puente. Grey was highly interested in goth bands, mostly The Cure. Her mother, however, born-again Pentecostal, strictly forbade Grey to listen to goth music. In her late teens, she sang gospel songs. Thanks to that, she became interested in stand-up comedy and started to perform it. She also had a talent for voice impressions, which led to voice acting.
Griffin started in a few animation series and, since then, has been featured in numerous video games.
She is best-known for providing the voice of "Vicky" in the Nickelodeon TV series, "Fairly OddParents" (2001-2013), as well as "Mandy" in the Cartoon Network TV show, "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" (2001 - 2007). She voiced "Mandy" again in two more films about Billy and Mandy, "Billy and Mandy Big Boogie Adventure" (2007) and "The Grim Adventures of KND" (2007), opposite Richard Steven Horvitz (Billy) and Greg Eagles (Grim).
In 2002, Grey DeLisle married musician Murry Hammond, the bassist for the band, Old 97's. Their first child, Jefferson Texas Hammond, was born in 2007, in Los Angeles, California.597 Actress Credits- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Tara Strong began her acting career at the age of 13 in Toronto, Canada. She landed several TV, film, and musical theater roles as well as her first lead in an animated series as the title role of "Hello Kitty." After a short run at Toronto's Second City theater company, she moved to Los Angeles with an extensive resume that included her own sit-com and well over 20 animated series. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she quickly made her mark in several TV and Film projects, such as "Party of Five," "National Lampoon's Senior Trip," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and more. She has an iconic voice-over career, including roles such as Bubbles in "The Powerpuff Girls," Timmy Turner in "The Fairly OddParents," Dil Pickles in "Rugrats," Raven in "Teen Titans," "Batgirl," "Family Guy," "Drawn Together," "Ben 10," Melody in "The Little Mermaid 2," "Spirited Away," etc. She is Miss Collins on Nickelodeon's "Big Time Rush" and the current voice of "Harley Quinn." She is Emmy nominated, a Shorty Award winner, Twilight Sparkle in "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and currently playing "Unikitty" in the new hit series. She appeared in the Hallmark Christmas movie, "A Very Merry Toy Store." She has 350,000 Twitter followers (@tarastrong) and has used her social media to raise several hundred thousand dollars for kids with cancer and animal rescue groups, as well as using her commanding voices for her anti-bullying platform. She lives in Los Angeles. From between 2000 and 2019 she was married to former actor and real estate agent Craig Strong. However, the couple went their separate ways in July 2019 and, eventually, they formally divorced in January 2022. They have two sons together.590 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
Helen was born in Burma to an Anglo Indian father named George Desmier and a Burmese mother named Marlene. Her father went missing during the Second World War. Her family migrated to India in 1942 as refugees in order to escape from the Japanese invasion of Burma. Helen was introduced to Bollywood in 1953 by the famous dancer Cuckoo. She got her break in 1958 when she performed the song 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo' in the movie Howrah Bridge. Helen rarely got roles as the lead heroine in movies. So, she opted dancing which proved to be her fortune. Throughout the 1960's, 1970's to 1985, she danced in more than 600 movies establishing herself as a prolific dancer. Her best performances are in films Pipili Saheb, Naya Aadmi, Halaku, Yahudi, Howrah Bridge, Uttamputhiran in Tamil, Bedard Zamana Kya Jane ,Sri Valli in Tamil, Hum Hindustani, Half Ticket, Hongkong, China Town, Woh Kaun Thi, Gumnaam, Kaajal, Jewel Theif, Yakeen, The Train, Caravan, Sange Muzhangu in Tamil, Zakhmee, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Ginny Aur Jhonny, Bairaag, Deewangee, Khel Khilari Ka, Inkaar, Don, Inteqaam, Kab Kyun Aur Kahan, Pagla Kahin Ka, Apradh, Mere Jeevan Saathi , Dil Daulat Duniya,Lahu Ke Do Rang, Shararat, Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Her last few films for which danced Cabaret were Sawaal in 1982 and Pakhandee in 1984.
She was known for wearing different colors of wigs, contact lenses and skimpy outfits in her movies. In the late 1970's, her demand started diminishing because of her age along with the entry of younger dancers like Padma Khanna, Jayshree T, Bindu, Aruna Irani and Kalpana Iyer. In 1979, she won the best supporting actress award for her role as Vinod Khanna's Chinese wife in 'Lahu Ke Do Rang'. She officially retired from movies in 1984. She was married to director Prem Narayan Arora from 1957 to 1972 and she divorced him and later married screenwriter Salim Khan in 1981.531 Actress Credits- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Kari Wahlgren is an American actress from Kansas. She is most well-known for voicing Kitana and Mileena from Mortal Kombat, Starfire from Injustice 2, Velma Green the Spider Queen from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Kagami Hiiragi from Lucky Star, Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, Haruko Haruhara from FLCL, Razor from Aliens in the Attic and Tigress from Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.515 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
- Music Artist
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress and singer who voiced Commander Shepard from Mass Effect, Samus Aran from Metroid Prime, Killer Frost from Injustice: Gods Among Us, Gladys from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Trinity from The Matrix: Path of Neo, Princess Morbucks, Sedusa and Ms. Keane from The Powerpuff Girls, Flora from Tak and the Power of Juju, Cinderella from various Disney projects and Dory from Finding Nemo video games.417 Actress Credits- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress, born in New York City, New York, USA. One of the most well known voice-over actors working today, Kath Soucie began her career in New York as a theatrical actress. While Kath has been the voice of many campaigns and award-winning commercials, it is her work voicing thousands of episodes of animation that has won her an international fan base.
Soucie created the roles of Phil, Lil and Betty for Nickelodeon's Emmy Award-winning series, Rugrats, as well as for all three of the phenomenally successful Rugrats feature films for Paramount. She is the voice of young Nick in Zootopia (2016); Lola Bunny in the Warner Brother's classic Space Jam (1996); and Kanga in The Tigger Movie (2000), The Book of Pooh (2001), Piglet's Big Movie (2003), Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002), Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004), Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005), Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005), My Friends Tigger & Pooh (2007), My Friends Tigger and Pooh - Super Sleuth Christmas Movie (2007), Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too (2009), and Super Duper Super Sleuths (2010). She was the voice of Chet, the hero reindeer, in The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and Wendy in Disney's animated feature Return to Never Land (2002).
Soucie has brought hundreds of animated characters to life, both in prime time and day time television, playing diverse roles in such shows as Futurama (1999), Curious George (2006), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), The Tom and Jerry Show (2011), Trick Moon (2020), Lost in Oz (2015), Handy Manny (2006), Hey Arnold! (1996), The Real Ghostbusters (1986), Danny Phantom (2003), The Replacements (2006), The Weekenders (2000), Young Justice (2010), Tiny Toon Adventures (1990), Dexter's Laboratory (1996), Recess (1997), Clifford the Big Red Dog (2000), Young Justice (2010), The Cramp Twins (2001), Pepper Ann (1997), The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (1996), Invasion America (1998), As Told by Ginger (2000), 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997), Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990), The Critic (1994), Baby Blues (2000), God, the Devil and Bob (2000), Firebuds (2022), and more.
In the games' world, she can be heard on Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011), Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008), Tomb Raider: Legend (2006), The Elder Scrolls Online (2014), Fallout (1997), Syndicate (2012), World of Final Fantasy (2016), Full Throttle (1995), Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000), and Lost Odyssey (2007) among many, many others.399 Actress Credits- Actress
- Music Department
- Writer
Tress MacNeille is one of the most talented women in the voice-over industry to date. With her versatile talent has done the voices of Dot Warner from Animaniacs, Babs Bunny from Tiny Toon Adventures to being a featured singer in the Weird "Al" Yankovic song "Ricky", She has also appeared in a small part in the full-length motion picture "Elvira Mistress of the Dark".386 Actress Credits- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Ann Doran appeared in over 500 motion pictures and 1000 television shows, by one count. Starting at the age of four, she appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names so her father's family wouldn't find out. Rarely a featured player (although Charles Starrett's Rio Grande (1938) is a notable exception), she provided many a wonderful performance in support of the leads.380 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her Orthodox Jewish family was totally averse to her having an entertainment career. Her parents and grandparents forced her to leave the Theatre Guild school (New York) while still a teenager and had their wills drawn up accordingly so as to discourage this career choice.
Studied drama at Columbia University, and belonged to the American Theatre Wing.
When Mae was 17 and living in the South Bronx, she won a local contest to find the girl who most resembled Helen Kane, a popular singer known as the "Boop-Oop-A-Doop Queen". She was promptly signed by an agent and began performing in the Vaudeville circuit. Billing herself as "Mae Questel - Personality Singer of Personality Songs," she performed dead-on vocal imitations of Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and of course Helen Kane, among many others. Her mimic talent also provided duck, dog, chicken, owl, monkey, lion and baby sounds for radio shows.
Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer heard Mae doing her "boop-oop-a-doop" routine and hired her to do the character's voice in 1931. She served as the voice on more than 150 Betty Boop animated shorts until the character was retired in 1939. Her recording of "On The Good Ship Lollipop" sold more than 2 million during the Depression.
Best known as the voice of "Betty Boop", she was also the voice of not-so-less-famous "Olive Oyl" in the Popeye cartoons, as well as the toddler Swee'pea and others. She did Popeye's voice once, in the cartoon Shape Ahoy (1945), because Jack Mercer was serving in the military during World War II. Her versatility is probably better appreciated in the cartoon Never Kick a Woman (1936) in which she provides the quivery, nervous-Nellie voice of Olive Oyl, based on comedic actress Zasu Pitts, and the deep, assured, alluring voice of the blonde saleswoman, based on Mae West.
In 1968, the City of Indianapolis honored her with a "Mae Questel Day". In 1979, she won the Troupers Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.364 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
The first actress to sign a contract with Universal in 1915, Gertrude Astor (born in Ohio as Gertrude Irene Astor) began her career playing trombone and saxophone on a riverboat. Towering over most of her leading men at 5'11", she often played golddiggers, rich socialites or a leading lady's best friend in such one-reeled films and feature length silents as Polly Redhead (1917), The Price of a Good Time (1917), The Girl Who Wouldn't Quit (1918), The Lion Man (1919), Mary Pickford's Through the Back Door (1921), The Wall Flower (1922), Alice Adams (1923), The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923), Stage Struck (1925), The Boy Friend (1926), Kiki (1926), The Strong Man (1926), Shanghaied (1927), The Cat and the Canary (1927) and Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) (as Little Eva's mother). The popular female stars she bolstered included Pickford, Norma Talmadge, Gloria Swanson, Patsy Ruth Miller, Colleen Moore, Shirley Mason, Olive Borden and Laura La Plante
With the advent of sound, Astor's career continued, landing her in a number of two-reel comedies, mostly with the Hal Roach studio and occasionally with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the "Our Gang" gang and Charley Chase. "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!" seemed to be one of her most used lines in films. Acting until the 1960s and often in bit parts (she once played a corpse in The Scarlet Claw (1944), her last movie bit was for John Ford in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Astor often relayed her film memories to friends, fans and historians. At one point in her career she and actress Lilyan Tashman, were known as the most elegant and best dressed women in Hollywood. Astor died following a stroke on her 90th birthday at the Motion Piture Home in Woodland Hills.333 Actress Credits- Actress
- Music Department
- Writer
Cree Summer Francks is a Canadian-American voice actress and singer from Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Canadian actor and singer Don Francks. She is most well-known for voicing Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Tiff Crust and Queen Vexus (when Eartha Kitt is unavailable) from My Life as a Teenage Robot, Cleo from Clifford the Big Red Dog, Numbuh 5 from Codename: Kids Next Door, Foxxy Love from Drawn Together, Susie Carmichael from Rugrats, Cynder from The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures, Penny from Inspector Gadget and Dr. Penelope Young in Batman: Arkham Asylum.331 Actress Credits- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Legendary voice actress June Foray was born June Lucille Forer on September 18, 1917 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Maurice Forer and Ida Edith Robinson, who wed in Hampden, Massachusetts. Her father, who was Jewish, emigrated from Novgorod, Imperial Russia, while her Massachusetts-born mother was of Lithuanian Jewish and French-Canadian descent. Her mother converted to Judaism to marry, and took the name Sarah.
At age 12, young June was already doing "old lady" voices. She had the good fortune of having a speech teacher who also had a radio program in the Springfield area. This teacher became her mentor, and added June to the cast of her show. Eventually her family moved to Los Angeles, where she continued in radio. By age fifteen, she was writing her own show for children, "Lady Makebelieve", in which she also provided voices. June dabbled in both on-camera acting and voice work, but was particularly talented in voice characterizations, dialects and accents. Just like Daws Butler, one of her later co-stars, she was a "voice magician" and worked steadily in radio from the 1930s into the 1950s.
June branched out from radio and began providing voices for cartoon characters. In the 1940s, she provided the voices for a live-action series of shorts, "Speaking of Animals", in which she dubbed in voices for real on-screen animals, a task she was to repeat many years later in an episode of The Magical World of Disney (1954). In the late 1940s June, Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, Pinto Colvig and many others recorded hundreds of children's and adult albums for Capitol Records. Her female characterizations on these records ran the entire gamut from little girls to middle-aged women, old ladies, dowagers and witches. No one seemed to be able to do these same voices with the warmth, energy and sparkle that June did.
In the 1950s June's star in animation not only began to rise but soared when Walt Disney sought her out and hired her to do the voice of Lucifer the cat in Cinderella (1950). The Disney organization continued to use June many times over, well into the 21st century. Warner Brothers also hired her to replace Bea Benaderet and do all of its "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons. June has done many incidental characters for Warners, but her most famous voice has been that of Granny (in the "Tweety and Sylvester" series). Unfortunately, since Mel Blanc's contract called for exclusive voice credit on these cartoons, June never received credit for all the voices she did. During this time she also appeared on [error].
In 1957, Jay Ward met with June to discuss her voicing the characters of "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" and "Natasha Fatale" in a cartoon series. On November 19, 1959, the show debuted as The Bullwinkle Show (1959), later changing its name to The Bullwinkle Show (1959). June provided many other voices for this show, especially its "side shows" such as "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son". She did fewer voices for the "Peabody's Improbable History" segment, but she did appear in at least three of those episodes. After the show had been successful for a few years, Ward added one of its most popular segments, "Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties". June was a regular in this side show as Dudley's girlfriend Nell Fenwick.
Since Ward used June exclusively for nearly all his female voices, he showcased her talents as no other producer had before. June missed out on doing voices for three of the show's "Fractured Fairy Tales" because she could not reschedule some bookings to do recording work with Stan Freberg, so Julie Bennett filled in for her on those occasions. Dorothy Scott--co-producer Bill Scott's wife--also filled in for June a few times for "Peabody's Improbable History". Her collaboration with Ward made her incredibly famous, and "Rocky the Flying Squirrel" became her signature voice. To this day June regularly wears a necklace with the figure of Rocky sculpted by her niece Lauren Marems.
Ward later produced two other cartoon series, Hoppity Hooper (1964) and George of the Jungle (1967). June's appearances on "Hoppity Hooper" were limited to the segments of "Fractured Fairy Tales", "Dudley Do-Right" and "Peabody" that aired during its run. On "Fractured Fairy Tales" June did a whole montage of voices similar to those from her Capitol Records days. Her witch voices were so incredibly funny and magnificently done that Disney and Warner Brothers tapped her to provide that same voice for the character of Witch Hazel. She was once again the lone female voice artist, this time on "George of the Jungle". Included on that show were the "Super Chicken" and "Tom Slick" side shows.
In the 1960s, June lost out to Bea Benaderet when she auditioned for the voice of "Betty Rubble" on The Flintstones (1960). June appeared numerous times during the decade in holiday specials such as Frosty the Snowman (1969) and The Little Drummer Boy (1968)). In the 1960s and 1970s, June dubbed in voices for full-length live-action feature films many times. Jay Ward and Bill Scott also had her dub in dialogue for silent movies in their non-animated series Fractured Flickers (1963).
In the early 1970s, June tried her hand at puppetry. She became the voice of an elephant, an aardvark and a giraffe on Curiosity Shop (1971). Around this time she also recorded various voices for the road shows of "Disney on Parade", which toured the US and Europe for several years.
She acted on-camera occasionally over the years, primarily on talk shows, game shows and documentaries; in the early years of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), she performed a 13-week stint as a little Mexican girl. However, June had said that she prefers to record behind the scenes because she jokingly said "She can earn more money in less time."
June Foray died on July 26, 2017, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. She was ninety nine years old.327 Actress Credits- Titian haired, full figured, voluptuous Dorothy Vernon had a career that spanned from the early days of moving pictures through the boxed screen known as television.
Whether it was a comedy, a western, a musical or whatever was needed, Dorothy did it all. Her unforgettable glow and her almost heavenly serene appearance was the focal point of many western square dances, slapstick sequences, or horrid haunts.
One film historian noted that he had seen Vernon in so many PRC westerns that he started to believe that she was Charles King's out of work mother.
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you watch from the 1920s - 1950, chances are eventually you'll run into the small lady with the big presence.323 Actress Credits - Actress
- Additional Crew
Scots actress, long in the United States, who specialized in housekeepers and mothers, most notably the housekeeper Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the Thirties and Forties. She was born Mary Gilmour, the daughter of a Glasgow wire weaver. She worked as a dressmaker before finding work on the stage. Joining a company bound for an American tour, she came to the U.S. in her twenties, apparently making a few appearances on Broadway in small roles, but primarily touring in stock. With her mother Mary and daughter (also named Mary), she arrived in Los Angeles in the mid-Twenties and began playing variations on the roles she would spend her career doing. She became friends with John Ford while making Hangman's House (1928) and made seven more films for him. In 1939, she took on her most famous role as Sherlock Holmes's housekeeper and played the role in ten films and numerous radio plays. She was a charter member of the Hollywood Canteen, entertaining servicemen throughout the Second World War. On the radio show "Those We Love," she played the regular role of Mrs. Emmett. She entered retirement just as television reshaped the entertainment industry, making only a single appearance in that medium. Very active in the Daughters of Scotia auxiliary of the Order of Scottish Clans, she lived out her final years in Pasadena, California with her daughter and grandson. She died after a long illness on August 23, 1963.306 Actress Credits- Florence Lawrence was the first film player whose name was used to promote her films and the studio (Independent Moving Pictures Company [IMP]) for which she worked. Before her, actors and actresses worked anonymously, partly out of fear that stage managers would refuse to hire them if they were found to be working in films and partly because movie executives didn't want to put much money into the production of these short, practically disposable films, and didn't want their players to become well known and start demanding higher salaries. Lawrence was on the stage from age three, appearing in musicals and plays, whistling and playing the violin. At 20 she was cast in the Edison production of Daniel Boone (1907), and that led to work at Vitagraph Studios. From there she was hired by Biograph, where she refined and perfected her craft under the direction of D.W. Griffith. In 1909 she left Biograph to seek more recognizable employment at another film company. As a result she was blacklisted by the Motion Picture Trust, headed by Thomas A. Edison, to which most motion-picture producers belonged and which held the patents on most film production equipment and would not allow any companies that did not belong to the Trust to use them. Carl Laemmle started IMP in late 1909, and refused to join the Motion Picture Trust. The Trust took action--both legal and otherwise--to discourage Laemmle from producing films on his own. Lawrence and her husband, director Harry Solter, signed on as IMP's first featured players. In 1910 Laemmle, partly out of anger over the Trust's actions--such as hiring thugs to attack his film crews and wreck his equipment--decided to advertise the fact that he had Miss Lawrence. She made the first personal appearance of a film star in St. Louis, MO, that March, and the resulting publicity made her famous (and also increased the grosses on her--and Laemmle's--films). Other film companies soon followed suit, and the names of film actors and actresses began to appear in all segments of the media. Lawrence worked for IMP for a year, then spent another year at Lubin before she began her own production company, Victor, where she worked on and off until 1914. After a stage accident in which she injured her back, she retired from films, only to be lured back in 1916 for her first feature, Elusive Isabel (1916). It was unsuccessful. She tried a comeback again in 1921; that, too, was unsuccessful. She settled into bit parts and character roles through the 1920s and 1930s. She committed suicide in 1938 after years of unhappiness and illness. She was found in her apartment on Dec. 27, 1938 and died soon afterward in hospital.299 Actress Credits
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
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 stage in various stock and repertory companies, and made her film debut in 1948. One of the most memorable character actresses in recent memory, her stocky build, incredibly expressive face and hearty laugh have kept audiences convulsed for decades, playing a variety of neighborhood gossips, busybodies and eccentrics. Memorable as Sister Mary Stigmata ("The Penguin"), Dan Aykroyd's and John Belushi's nemesis, in The Blues Brothers (1980). She was used as a comic foil by Jerry Lewis in many of his films, always to great advantage. She did much television work, playing in everything from The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) to Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964) to Hogan's Heroes (1965) to Married... with Children (1987), where she was the voice of Peg's monstrous but never-seen mother, Al Bundy's nemesis. She was working on Broadway in a production of "The Full Monty" when she died of lung cancer in 2001.297 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
The legendary actress set a record when at age 82, she appeared on Dancing with the Stars (2005). Cloris Leachman was born on April 30, 1926 in Des Moines, Iowa to Berkeley Claiborne "Buck" Leachman and the former Cloris Wallace. Her father's family owned a lumber company, Leachman Lumber Co. She was of Czech (from her maternal grandmother) and English descent. After graduating from high school, Leachman attended Illinois State University and Northwestern University, where she majored in drama. After winning the title of Miss Chicago 1946 (as part of the Miss America pageant), she acted with the Des Moines Playhouse before moving to New York.
Leachman made her credited debut in 1948 in an episode of The Ford Theatre Hour (1948) and appeared in many television anthologies and series before becoming a regular on The Bob & Ray Show (1951) in 1952. Her movie debut was memorable, playing the doomed blonde femme fatale Christina Bailey in Robert Aldrich's classic noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Other than a role in Rod Serling's movie The Rack (1956) in support of Paul Newman, Leachman remained a television actress throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, appearing in only two movies during the latter decade, The Chapman Report (1962) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Though she would win an Oscar for Peter Bogdanovich's adaptation of Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show (1971) and appear in three Mel Brooks movies, it was in television that her career remained and her fame was assured in the 1970s and into the second decade of the new millennium.
Leachman was nominated five times for an Emmy Award playing Phyllis Lindstrom, Mary Tyler Moore's landlady and self-described best friend on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and on the spin-off series Phyllis (1975). She won twice as Best Supporting Actress in a comedy for her "Mary Tyler Moore" gig and won a Golden Globe Award as a leading performer in comedy for "Phyllis", but her first Emmy Award came in the category Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 1973 for the television movie A Brand New Life (1973). She also won two Emmy Awards as a supporting player for Malcolm in the Middle (2000).
She was married to director-producer George Englund from 1953 to 1979. They had five children together. Cloris Leachman died of natural causes on January 27, 2021 in Encinitas, California.287 Actress Credits- A stage actress, Urecal made her screen debut in 1933. For the remainder of her career and two hundred plus movies, she played cleaning women, landladies, shopkeepers and the like. She was known as a Marjorie Main type actress and later went on to a career in television playing in such shows as "Tugboat Annie" and "Peter Gunn." Minerva claimed her name was an anagram of her hometown, Eureka, California.280 Actress Credits
- Actress
- Additional Crew
She was one British character player who seemed to show up everywhere on post-war film, stage and TV, although, more times than not, could barely be glimpsed. A most efficient actress, Marianne Stone's career spanned four decades and was primarily enjoyed in bawdy, ribald comedy playing lowbrow or working-class ladies about town (waitresses, barmaids, clerks, shrews, landladies, secretaries, receptionists, etc.)
Born in King's Cross, London, on August 23, 1922, the dark-haired Marianne was raised by her grandparents who were furniture owners. Her grandmother also ran her own music school and Marianne benefited from that. Winning a music scholarship to the Camden School for Girls, she instead studied at the Royal College of Music, then earned an acting scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1940. Following her graduation she initially made ends meet by working as secretary types in offices, and also found work as an assistant manager for various stock companies. She made her on-stage West End debut in 1945 with a role in "The King Maker" at age 23. A high point for her, as for her stage work, was winning the Gertrude Lawrence Award for "Character Acting".
Marianne moved quickly into films following WWII with minuscule roles in such films as Brighton Rock (1948) and Escape Dangerous (1947). During the latter film's shoot, she met her future husband, actor/producer, Peter Noble, who went on to become a noted London show business columnist, theatre critic and film historian. They married in 1947 and had two daughters Katina Noble and Kara Noble . Of the hundreds of films she appeared in, some "A" but primarily "B" pictures, Marianne was given the chance to shine in only a few.
Producing/directing brothers Roy Boulting and/or John Boulting utilized her presence in several of their films, albeit minor, including Seven Days to Noon (1950), High Treason (1951), Brothers in Law (1957), I'm All Right Jack (1959), Man in a Cocked Hat (1959) and Heavens Above! (1963). Marianne also became a steadfast player (nine total) in the highly popular "Carry On..." slapstick movie series beginning with Carry on Nurse (1959) and finishing a decade and a half later with Carry on Behind (1975). Her most engaging cameo in the series came with her old hag role in Carry on Dick (1974). In what would have been her tenth film in the series, she was deleted from the final print of Carry on Matron (1972).
While Marianne enjoyed a more visible part in Passport to Treason (1956), her most sharply-defined roles on celluloid was arguably that of co-writer Vivian Darkbloom in Lolita (1962) starring James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers and nubile Sue Lyon in the title role. Supposedly it was Winters (who wound up staying with Stone during the film's shooting) who helped Marianne get the part. Ironically, one of Stone's last film, Déjà Vu (1985) also happened to feature Winters. A few of the character lady's bawdier 70s film work included Au Pair Girls (1972), the similarly-styled "Carry On" film Bless This House (1972), The Love Ban (1973), Mistress Pamela (1973), The Cherry Picker (1974) and Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974).
On TV Marianne was seen in such colorful productions as Eccentricities of a Nightingale (1976), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1976) and the mini-series A Man Called Intrepid (1979). Marianne's husband Peter predeceased her (1997) and she herself died on December 21, 2009, at the age of 87. Survived by her children, one of her daughters, Kara Noble appeared with her mother in the film Funny Money (1983).269 Actress Credits- Actress
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Ellen Corby was born Ellen Hansen on June 3, 1911, in Racine, Wisconsin. She played many uncredited bit parts from the late '20s through the '30s. Ellen would not be seen on the big screen again until 1945 in Cornered (1945). In 1946, she appeared in 14 films, although mostly in small, minor roles. One of them was in the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). One of the highlights of her career came about in 1948 in I Remember Mama (1948) as Aunt Trina. Ellen garnered a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, which was ultimately won by Claire Trevor in Key Largo (1948). The Oscar nomination didn't send her to the heights she had hoped. This wonderful actress continued in roles that were mostly minor compared to some of her contemporaries. However, it was television where she would receive the acclaim that had eluded her on the screen. Time after time she played parts that were absolutely outstanding. One of the funniest was as Myrt "Hubcaps" Lesh in The Andy Griffith Show (1960). She was the ringleader of a gang that stole cars and then sold them, and she sold Barney Fife a stolen car that turned out to be a real lemon. The series that brought her worldwide recognition, though, was the highly acclaimed The Waltons (1972) as Esther "Grandma" Walton. The role got her Emmy awards in 1973, 1974, and 1975. Although a stroke in 1976 slowed her down, Ellen still made appearances on the series. Her last TV appearance was in 1997 in the TV movie A Walton Easter (1997). On April 14, 1999, Ellen died at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 87 years old.265 Actress Credits- Actress
- Soundtrack
Nobody in the history of films has ever gotten dropped into quicksand by a tree possessed by the spirit of a wrongly killed chief's son like Suzanne Ridgway. Her career didn't always start out so glamorous. Her undeniable beauty got her a movie contract where they saw her as a potential foil for a comedian. Like a lot of ideas in Hollywood, it never came to fruition and Ridgway quickly found herself working in bit roles and as an extra.
By the 1940s, Ridgway was reduced to appearing in roles that required girls who looked pretty but who didn't have much chance for improvement. Her acting ability was very limited and this further hampered her career. Her exotic appearance led her to constantly get cast in roles of Spanish or Mexican girls and she had trouble delivering dialog with an accent. Like a true professional, she did what she was told and she was able to collect paychecks for 20 years while experiencing all facets of the business.
By the late 1940s, Ridgway frequently found herself being fought over by pirates, cowboys, and derelicts. What had once been a promising young actress was primarily reduced to window dressing for whatever scene she appeared in. She still managed to appear in some higher-budget films like "Calamity Jane" where she gets to wink at Doris Day in a silent bit role and as a guest in a hotel lobby admiring Glenn Ford. Eventually, she met producer Lindsley Parsons who helped get her a role in the film masterpiece "From Hell It Came." Her final acting role was in her husband's film "The Purple Gang" where she played Daisy, a girl who constantly reported crimes and when she finally saw a real one, nobody would believe her.
While most actresses quickly give up on Hollywood, Suzanne Ridgway never gave up on her dream. She wanted to be an actress who starred in films. When she finally got her chance, she was attacked by a possessed tree and tossed into quicksand. She got further than most and she leaves a long-lasting legacy that will forever be remembered by the countless fans on this true leading lady.267 Actress Credits- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
This attractive, happy go lucky blonde actress, educated at the University of Kansas and a former ballet soloist, first broke into both TV and cinema screens in the mid 1970s and through her appearances in several well remembered horror and sci-fi films, and Dee quickly gained a cult following among the fantasy film fans. Poor Dee always seemed to be on the wrong side of some malevolent person or evil creature....she was pursued by a clan of cannibal killers in The Hills Have Eyes (1977), terrorized by a pack of werewolves in the superb The Howling (1981), got a break from the horror, as a sympathetic mom in the mega sci-fi hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and nearly ends up lunch for a rabid St. Bernard in the heart stopping Cujo (1983).
In the early 1980s, Wallace-Stone actually shared the screen several times with her then husband Christopher Stone before his unfortunate, early demise from a heart attack in October, 1995.
However, typecasting Dee Wallace-Stone as a horror heroine does not do her justice, as unlike some other scream queens whose careers quickly faded, Dee has gone on to have a very busy and varied acting career, appearing in over 90 feature films to date! Her All-American looks and easy going demeanor has seen Dee often cast as a typical suburban mother, a sympathetic friend, or a trusted ally. Fans warm to her endearing smile and natural warmth, and Dee continues to find herself in constant demand in front of the camera, plus she has her own much visited website.252 Actress Credits- Fern Emmett was born on 22 March 1896 in Oakland, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Ten Nights in a Bar-Room (1931), Cinderella Swings It (1943) and Scattergood Baines (1941). She was married to Henry Roquemore. She died on 3 September 1946 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.249 Actress Credits
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Frances Morris was born on 3 August 1908 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. She was an actress, known for Thunder (1929), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) and Adventures of Superman (1952). She was married to Russell Parker and Antrim Short. She died on 2 December 2003 in Santa Clarita, California, USA.248 Actress Credits- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Mary Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Elsie Charlotte (Hennessy) and John Charles Smith. She was of English and Irish descent. Pickford began in the theater at age seven. Then known as "Baby Gladys Smith", she toured with her family in a number of theater companies. At some point, at her devout maternal grandmother's insistence, when young Gladys was seriously ill with diphtheria, she received a Catholic baptism and her middle name was changed to "Marie".
In 1907, she adopted a family name Pickford and joined the David Belasco troupe, appearing in the long-running The Warrens of Virginia". She began in films in 1909 with the 'American Mutoscope & Biograph [us]', working with director D.W. Griffith.
For a short time in 1911, to earn more money, she joined the IMP Film Co. under Carl Laemmle. She returned to Biograph in 1912, then, in 1913 joined the Famous Players Film Company under Adolph Zukor. She then joined First National Exhibitor's Circuit in 1918. In 1919, she co-founded United Artists with D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin and then-future husband, Douglas Fairbanks.246 Actress Credits- Prolific (and ubiquitous) bit player Leoda Richards was born Leoda Carole Knapp, March 15, 1907 in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Carl and Celia Knapp, Richards trained as a dancer. Moreover, Leoda was in the original company of 3 Broadway musicals: "A Connecticut Yankee," "Strike Me Pink," and "Anything Goes." She took the name, 'Leoda Richards', after marrying Charles Richards in 1928. Leoda first began appearing in films in uncredited minor roles in the late 1940's. A quintessential 'little old lady type', Richards can be spotted in scores of films and TV shows as party guests, passengers on either airplanes or ocean liners, spectators at sporting events, or patrons in clubs, diners, casinos, or restaurants. On February 7, 1998, Leoda passed away in Laguna Niguel, California. She was survived by a daughter, Barbara.240 Actress Credits
- Prolific and ubiquitous British bit player Aileen Lewis was born Aileen Mary Halsey on April 9, 1914 in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. Nicknamed the Duchess because of her regal bearing, Lewis first began appearing in uncredited minor roles in films in the late 1940's and soon started working profusely from the early 1950's onward. Aileen could be frequently spotted looking elegant in a fancy evening gown as a guest at parties, dancing on the floor at a ballroom, or in the audience at either a concert or ballet. Moreover, her trademark aristocratic manner also led to Lewis being often cast as various upper-class ladies holding court with British royalty or as patrons in posh casinos, nightclubs, or restaurants. Her husband Lewis Alexander was a fairly prolific background player in his own right who occasionally popped up in movies with her. Aileen died at age 99 on February 12, 2014 in Felpham, West Sussex, England.233 Actress Credits
- Florence Wix was born on 16 May 1883 in Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Secrets (1924), The Buccaneer (1938) and Three Cheers for Love (1936). She died on 23 November 1956 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.221 Actress Credits
- Actress
- Soundtrack
About as reliable as one could ever find, character actress Mary Treen was a familiar face to most and could always be counted on to bring a bit of levity to any film scene. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in 40s, 1950s/60s Hollywood.
She was born Mary Louise Summers in St. Louis, Missouri in 1907, her father dying while she was still an infant. Raised in Southern California by her mother, who once performed under the stage name Helene Sullivan, and her stepfather, a physician, she attended Westlake School for Girls as well as a convent where she tried out successfully in school plays.
Treen began dancing in vaudeville shows and revues before seeking her fame in the movies. Tall (5'9") and stringy-framed, she formed a musical comedy duo with Marjorie Barnett, who was 5'3", billing themselves as "Treen and Barnett: Two Unsophisticated Vassar Co-eds". Much of the comedy was centered around their difference in height. Not a beauty by Hollywood standards, she relied on humor to get attention. In 1934, Warner Brothers signed her up after seeing her in a local play.
After three years, she freelanced. Her scores of pudgy-cheeked nurses, waitresses, career girls, wallflowers and confidantes enhanced many a comedy or, at the very least, offered a brief respite in a heavier drama. A few of her highlights would include such films as Kentucky Moonshine (1938), I Love a Soldier (1944) (the role was written especially for her), Don Juan Quilligan (1945), and the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946) (as James Stewart's cousin Tilly). In later years both Jerry Lewis and Elvis Presley utilized her talents in their movie vehicles.
She was given a bit more to do on television and actually stole some scenes as maid/baby nurse Hilda Hinkelmeyer on The Joey Bishop Show (1961) for three seasons. She typically guested on lightweight sitcoms such as "The Andy Griffith Show", "Green Acres", "Here's Lucy", "Happy Days", and "The Dukes of Hazzard".
Perhaps because she could play old maid types so easily in later years, she was often thought to have never married. She actually did marry in 1944 to Herbert C. Pearson, a wholesale liquor dealer. They had no children. He died in 1965. She later moved in with her ex-vaudeville partner, Marjorie Barnett-Klein, also widowed. In later years the two performed their old routines to the delight of other senior citizens. Treen was living in Balboa Beach, California when she died of cancer in 1989, aged 82.218 Actress Credits- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Jane Marie Lynch is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series Glee (2009-2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recognition for her roles in Christopher Guest's mockumentary films, such as Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006).211 Actress Credits- Missouri-born Jane Darwell was born Patti Woodard, the daughter of William Robert Woodard, president of the Louisville Southern Railroad, and Ellen (Booth) Woodard, in Palmyra, Missouri, where she grew up on a ranch . She nursed ambitions to be an opera singer, but put it off because of her father's disapproval (she eventually changed her name to Darwell from the family name of Woodard so as not to "sully" the family name). Making her stage debut at age 33, she was almost 40 when she made her first film, a silent, in 1913.
She easily made the transition from silents to talkies, and specialized in playing kindly, grandmotherly types. Her most famous role was as Ma Joad, the glue that held the Joad family together, in the classic The Grapes of Wrath (1940), for which she won the Academy Award. She was, however, memorably cast against type in The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), as the shrewish, cackling Ma Grier, a lynch mob leader, and again in Caged (1950), as the unsympathetic prison matron in charge of the isolation ward.
She made over 200 films. Her last, Mary Poppins (1964), was made at the express request of Walt Disney; she had retired and was living at the Motion Picture Country Home and Disney came out personally to ask her to appear in the film, after which she went back into retirement. She died in 1967 after suffering a stroke and a heart attack, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.211 Actress Credits - Rose Plumer was born on 19 January 1876 in Fresno, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Secret Code (1942), Inside the Law (1942) and Dark Mountain (1944). She was married to Lincoln Plumer. She died on 3 March 1955 in Hollywood, California, USA.202 Actress Credits