25 Most Remembered Classic Actresses - As Voted by the People
by Chomper66 | created - 05 Apr 2011 | updated - 06 Aug 2011 | PublicI recently made a poll to determine who are the most remembered classic actresses. This is not just my opinion, it's the peoples' opinion. This list is preliminary, based off the results so far. The poll is ongoing, if you haven't voted, here is the link:
http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/520493
1. Marilyn Monroe
Actress | Some Like It Hot
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, comedienne, singer, and model. She became one of the world's most enduring iconic figures and is remembered both for her winsome embodiment of the Hollywood sex symbol and her tragic personal and professional struggles within the film industry. Her life and ...
The Blonde Bombshell, the beloved sex symbol of the fifties and sixties, takes the crown. No big surprise considering at least 20 posters of her appear in every shopping mall in America. Admittedly, her acting isn't necessarily what made her famous, it was her enticing curves and voluptuous lips.
2. Audrey Hepburn
Actress | Breakfast at Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, while her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, to English and Austrian parents.
After her parents' divorce, ...
Audrey Hepburn, a rare combination of beloved icon and amazing actress, deservingly takes the number two spot. Her unconventional beauty and unique fashion has ingrained her into the minds of millions.
3. Elizabeth Taylor
Actress | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. She was known internationally for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early in her youth and kept the world hooked ...
Gorgeous and talented, Miss Taylor was among the greatest stars of the sixties. This incessant tabloid target has made her mark on the annals of Hollywood history.
4. Grace Kelly
Actress | Dial M for Murder
On November 12, 1929, Grace Patricia Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to wealthy parents. Her girlhood was uneventful for the most part, but one of the things she desired was to become an actress which she had decided on at an early age. After her high school graduation in 1947, Grace ...
The icy seductress Grace Kelly easily makes the list. Her unyielding sexual erotica and irresistible beauty make her a true princess to be remembered.
5. Judy Garland
Actress | The Wizard of Oz
One of the brightest, most tragic movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Era, Judy Garland was a much-loved character whose warmth and spirit, along with her rich and exuberant voice, kept theatre-goers entertained with an array of delightful musicals.
She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in ...
One of the most famous and lovable musical talents of all time takes her seat at number four. Forever remembered for her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, as well as her musical duos with Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland will never truly die.
6. 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 ...
With more Oscars than any other actress, and one of the longest and most consistent careers ever, Kate takes an admirable seventh place. Her unique charisma and unconventional persona are what make her stand apart.
7. Shirley Temple
Actress | The Little Colonel
Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in ...
The biggest star of the 30s, even rivaling the likes of Gable himself, will forever be remembered as the adorable little princess who brought joy into our lives when the world was falling apart.
8. 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...
Whether she's drop dead gorgeous or hideously repulsive, no one can deny that Bette Davis is one of the most talented actresses to ever grace the silver screen. This headstrong and determined actress paved her way into Hollywood history, and there she will remain.
9. Sophia Loren
Actress | La ciociara
Sophia Loren was born as Sofia Scicolone at the Clinica Regina Margherita in Rome on September 20, 1934. Her father Riccardo was married to another woman and refused to marry her mother Romilda Villani, despite the fact that she was the mother of his two children (Sophia and her younger sister ...
This Italian delight is a true cinematic treasure. From her heart wrenching-performance in Two Women to her comedic turn in Marriage Italian Style, Loren has consistently proved that she has both the talent and looks to make us ask for more.
10. Joan Crawford
Actress | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas, to Anna Belle (Johnson) and Thomas E. LeSueur, a laundry laborer. By the time she was born, her parents had separated, and by the time she was a teenager, she'd had three stepfathers. It wasn't an easy life; ...
One of the most versatile wonders ever to appear in film, Joan Crawford is one of the few actresses to successfully make the transition from silent to talkie. Her dramatic performance in Mildred Pierce has resonated through the decades and has kept her in the minds of people everywhere.
11. Doris Day
Soundtrack | Love Me or Leave Me
One of America's most loved actresses was born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alma Sophia (Welz), a housewife, and William Joseph Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master. Her grandparents were all German immigrants. She had two brothers, Richard, who died ...
Rivaling even the biggest male stars at the box office, Doris Day has sent generations of audiences into an uproar with her hilarious comedic and musical performances.
12. Ingrid Bergman
Actress | Casablanca
Ingrid Bergman was one of the greatest actresses from Hollywood's lamented Golden Era. Her natural and unpretentious beauty and her immense acting talent made her one of the most celebrated figures in the history of American cinema. Bergman is also one of the most Oscar-awarded actresses, tied with ...
The lovely St. Ingrid stole our hearts in Casablanca and brought to the screen a natural and genuine presence that enchanted millions of film-goers worldwide. Ironically, this Swedish sensation became known as "the ideal of American womanhood."
13. Shirley MacLaine
Actress | Terms of Endearment
Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (MacLean), was a drama teacher from Nova Scotia, Canada, and her father, Ira Owens Beaty, a professor of psychology and real estate agent, was from Virginia. Her brother, Warren Beatty, was born on ...
A combination of quirky comedian and dramatic master, Shirley MacLaine brought a fresh new persona to the big screen. This multi-talented rhapsody has delighted men and women alike, and has officially secured her place in history.
14. Rita Hayworth
Actress | Gilda
Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of dancers. Her father, Eduardo Cansino Reina, was a dancer as was his father before him. He emigrated from Spain in 1913. Rita's American mother, Volga Margaret (Hayworth), who was of mostly ...
The most famous pin-up of the 40s gave our boys on the front something to fight for, and the Japanese something to fear. This divine creature has sent even the most devoted men into whirling sexual frenzies.
15. Ava Gardner
Actress | The Night of the Iguana
Ava Lavina Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, to Mary Elizabeth (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner. Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window ...
Widely considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history, Ava Gardner garnered immense stardom and an impressive following based on her looks alone. She was not without talent however, as she proved in films such as Mogambo and Bhowani Junction.
16. Vivien Leigh
Actress | A Streetcar Named Desire
If a film were made of the life of Vivien Leigh, it would open in India just before World War I, where a successful British businessman could live like a prince. In the mountains above Calcutta, a little princess is born. Because of the outbreak of World War I, she is six years old the first time ...
In my opinion the most beautiful woman ever to walk this earth, Vivien Leigh beat out some fierce competition to win the most coveted role in film history - that of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. This performance alone secured her place as a legend, and a legend she shall remain.
17. Greta Garbo
Actress | Ninotchka
Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Anna Lovisa (Johansdotter), who worked at a jam factory, and Karl Alfred Gustafsson, a laborer. She was fourteen when her father died, which left the family destitute. Greta was forced to leave school and ...
This elusive queen of cinema attracted audiences on-screen and evaded them off-screen. Forever an enigma, Greta Garbo was the ghost that everyone wanted but nobody could have.
18. Lucille Ball
Actress | I Love Lucy
The woman who will always be remembered as the crazy, accident-prone, lovable Lucy Ricardo was born Lucille Desiree Ball on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York, the daughter of Desiree Evelyn "DeDe" (Hunt) and Henry Durrell "Had" Ball. Her father died before she was four, and her mother worked ...
Film star, television star, and radio star, Lucille Ball made her mark as one of the greatest comedic talents ever to be conceived.
19. Lauren Bacall
Actress | To Have and Have Not
Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924, in New York City. She was the daughter of Natalie Weinstein-Bacal, a Romanian Jewish immigrant, and William Perske, who was born in New Jersey, to Polish Jewish parents. Her family was middle-class, with her father working as a ...
The sultry, sweltering Lauren Bacall was a feminine masterpiece with an attitude. This overbearing screen presence had men sweating and women asking for leashes - not to mention she was the only woman brash enough to put a renegade like Bogie in his place.
20. Natalie Wood
Actress | Rebel Without a Cause
Natalie Wood was an American actress of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She started her career as a child actress and eventually transitioned into teenage roles, young adult roles, and middle-aged roles. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981 at age 43.
Wood was born July 20, 1938 in ...
From her sudden rise to fame in Rebel Without A Cause to her tragic and controversial death by drowning, Natalie Wood was a young prodigal talent that had massive potential but little time.
21. Marlene Dietrich
Soundtrack | Witness for the Prosecution
Her father was a police lieutenant and imbued in her a military attitude to life. Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated. She entered the cabaret scene in 1920s Germany, first as a spectator ...
This angelic German contessa captivated the world with her sensual voice and exotic glamor. Her famous pairings with Josef von Sternberg established her as one of the most desirable femme fatals of the 20th Century.
22. Mae West
Actress | She Done Him Wrong
Mae West was born August 17, 1893 in Brooklyn, New York, to "Battling Jack" West and Matilda Doelger. She began her career as a child star in vaudeville, and later went on to write her own plays, including "SEX", for which she was arrested. Though her first movie role, at age 40, was a small part ...
The undisputed "Empress of Sex" was able to make men swoon dressed from head to toe in period gowns. Fittingly, she spent most of her career battling the censors, who struggled to suppress her immutable sexual connotations.
23. Ginger Rogers
Actress | Kitty Foyle
Ginger Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911, the daughter of Lela E. Rogers (née Lela Emogene Owens) and William Eddins McMath. Her mother went to Independence to have Ginger away from her husband. She had a baby earlier in their marriage and he ...
Her longtime partnership with Fred Astaire was quite possibly the most legendary duo in cinematic history. Her unsurpassed dance skills as well as a mastery of drama make Ginger Rogers a legend to be reckoned with.
24. Debbie Reynolds
Actress | Singin' in the Rain
Debbie Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Maxine N. (Harmon) and Raymond Francis Reynolds, a carpenter for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Her film career began at MGM after she won a beauty contest at age 16 impersonating Betty Hutton. Reynolds wasn't a ...
Bubbly, perky, and wholesome, Debbie Reynolds is always a shining delight - be she acting, dancing, or singing. She is best remembered for her MGM musicals, especially her legendary pairing with Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
25. Jean Harlow
Actress | China Seas
Harlean Carpenter, who later became Jean Harlow, was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1911. She was the daughter of a successful dentist and his wife. In 1927, at the age of 16, she ran away from home to marry a young businessman named Charles McGrew, who was 23. The couple pulled up ...
This sassy platinum blonde was the Marilyn Monroe of the 1930s. Her bad-girl persona and brassy disposition made her an alluring sex symbol that few could resist.
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