The Best Actress 2006
by dziwnytenswiat | created - 1 week ago | updated - 1 week ago | PublicFrom my list: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls027004323/
1. Cate Blanchett
Actress | Carol
Cate Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to June (Gamble), an Australian teacher and property developer, and Robert DeWitt Blanchett, Jr., an American advertising executive, originally from Texas. She has an older brother and a younger sister. When she was ten ...
1615 points
2. Blanca Portillo
Actress | Los abrazos rotos
Blanca Portillo was born on June 15, 1963 in Madrid, Spain. She is an actress, known for Broken Embraces (2009), Volver (2006) and 7 vidas (1999).
1587 points
3. Jennifer Connelly
Actress | A Beautiful Mind
Jennifer Connelly was born in the Catskill Mountains, New York, to Ilene (Schuman), a dealer of antiques, and Gerard Connelly, a clothing manufacturer. Her father had Irish and Norwegian ancestry, and her mother was from a Jewish immigrant family. Jennifer grew up in Brooklyn Heights, just across ...
1527 points
4. Toni Collette
Actress | The Sixth Sense
Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three...
1516 points
5. Natalie Portman
Actress | Black Swan
Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an ...
1505 points
6. Maggie Gyllenhaal
Actress | Secretary
Maggie Gyllenhaal was born on November 16, 1977 in New York City, New York as Margalit Ruth Gyllenhaal, the daughter of producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish (mother) and Swedish, English, and ...
1479 points
7. Charlotte Gainsbourg
Actress | Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London, England in 1971. She is an Anglo-French actress and singer. The daughter of English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French songwriter, singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg, she was raised in Paris. Charlotte made her motion picture debut in 1984. In 1986, ...
1454 points
8. Lindsay Lohan
Actress | The Parent Trap
Lindsay Dee Lohan was born in New York City, on 2 July 1986, to Dina Lohan and Michael Lohan. She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby). Lohan ...
1433 points
9. Mélanie Laurent
Actress | Inglourious Basterds
Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter of Annick, a ballet teacher, and Pierre, a voice actor, who is most recognized for the French version of The Simpsons (1989). She has a younger brother, Mathieu, and has both Sephardi Jewish (from Tunisia) and Ashkenazi Jewish (from ...
1423 points
10. Martina Gedeck
Actress | Das Leben der Anderen
Martina Gedeck was born in Munich. After spending a year in the US, she studied drama at the Berlin University of the Arts. Martina's film career began while she was still at drama school. Her filmography covers practically all genres of film.
Gedeck has won a total of 23 major cinema and TV awards....
878 points
11. Sidse Babett Knudsen
Actress | Borgen
Sidse Babett Knudsen is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy Let's Get Lost, for which she received both the Robert and Bodil awards for Best Actress.
Following the critical success of her debut, Knudsen has ...
831 points
12. Vera Farmiga
Actress | Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga is an American actress who has received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Up in the Air (2009) and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in Bates Motel (2013) and When They See Us (2019).
She was born Vera Ann Farmiga, the second of seven children, on August 6, 1973, ...
828 points
13. Penélope Cruz
Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress," Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...
823 points
14. Carmen Maura
Actress | Mujeres al borde de un ataque de "nervios"
Descendant of the conservative Spanish politician Antonio Maura, Carmen lead an art gallery and appeared in various roles in night- clubs. With Tigres de papel (1977) she had her first successful appearance on the movie screen and thereafter she worked at the theatre, the movies and in TV ...
823 points
15. Lola Dueñas
Actress | Mar adentro
Lola Dueñas was born on October 6, 1971 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She is an actress, known for The Sea Inside (2004), Volver (2006) and Broken Embraces (2009).
823 points
16. Taraneh Alidoosti
Actress | Forooshande
Born on January 12th 1984 in Tehran. Her father is a former national team football player, Hamid Alidoosti. She started her career as an actress visiting Amin Tarokh's acting school in 2000. Soon she was chosen for her first role in I'm Taraneh, 15 (2002) (I'm Taraneh, 15), which has so far ...
823 points
17. Julie Christie
Actress | Doctor Zhivago
Julie Christie, the British movie legend whom Al Pacino called "the most poetic of all actresses," was born in Chabua, Assam, India, on April 14, 1940, the daughter of a tea planter and his Welsh wife Rosemary, who was a painter. The young Christie grew up on her father's plantation before being ...
816 points
18. Olympia Dukakis
Actress | Moonstruck
Long a vital, respected thespian of the classic and contemporary stage, this grand lady did not become a household name and sought-after film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning performance as Cher's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Movie (and ...
816 points
19. Wendy Crewson
Actress | Air Force One
Wendy Jane Crewson is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film The Doctor. Crewson has appeared in many Hollywood films, including The Good Son (1993), The Santa Clause (1994) and its sequels The Santa...
816 points
20. Judi Dench
Actress | Skyfall
Dame Judi Dench was born Judith Olivia Dench in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with the ...
809 points
21. Adriana Barraza
Actress | Babel
Adriana Barraza was born on March 5, 1956 in Toluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico. She is a director and actress, known for Babel (2006), Blue Beetle (2023) and Drag Me to Hell (2009). She has been married to Arnaldo Pipke since April 29, 2005. She was previously married to Carlos Valsagna.
806 points
22. Marie-Josée Croze
Actress | Les invasions barbares
Marie-Josée Croze first studied fine arts before opting for the stage at La Veillée-Prospero Theatre workshop in Montreal. In 1993 she got her first movie part in La Florida (1993) and started working for numerous Canadian TV series and movies.
In 2000, with her performance in Denis Villeneuve's ...
788 points
23. Kristin Scott Thomas
Actress | Gosford Park
The acclaimed Cornish actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, to Deborah (Hurlbatt) and Lieutenant Commander Simon Scott Thomas. Her father was a pilot for the British Royal Navy and died in a flying accident in 1964. Her stepfather, Lt. Cdr Simon Idiens, was also a pilot, ...
788 points
24. Nathalie Baye
Actress | Catch Me If You Can
Nathalie Baye was born on July 6, 1948 in Mainneville, Eure, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Catch Me If You Can (2002), Laurence Anyways (2012) and Venus Beauty Institute (1999).
788 points
25. Marina Hands
Actress | Lady Chatterley
Daughter of French actress Ludmila Mikaël and British stage director and actor Terry Hands, granddaughter of famous French painter Pierre Dmitrienko, the discrete and beautiful Marina Hands first wanted to be a professional horse-rider but, eventually, had to give up these dreams. In 1995, she ...
788 points
26. Ivana Baquero
Actress | El laberinto del fauno
Ivana was born in Barcelona, Spain. She graduated High School at The American School of Barcelona.
She got her big break in 2006 when Guillermo Del Toro cast her as the lead in his critically acclaimed fantasy thriller "Pan's Labyrinth." The role of Ofelia was originally intended for an ...
788 points
27. Ariadna Gil
Actress | El laberinto del fauno
Born in January, 1969, she's the daughter of August Gil Matamala, a prestigious lawyer. Grew up studying singing, dancing and the violin. She even appeared occasionally singing with her two brothers in their banda named "Matamala". At 17, she appeared on the cover of an avant-garde Catalonian ...
788 points
28. Maribel Verdú
Actress | El laberinto del fauno
Maribel Verdú was born on October 2, 1970 in Madrid, Spain as María Isabel Verdú Rollán. She is an actress, known for Snow White (2012), Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and And Your Mother Too (2001). She is the older sister of twins Marina and Carlota and she has been married to Pedro Larrañaga since ...
788 points
29. Nan Yu
Actress | The Expendables 2
Nan Yu was born on September 5, 1978 in Dalian, Liaoning, China. She is an actress, known for The Expendables 2 (2012), Tuya's Marriage (2006) and Speed Racer (2008).
784 points
30. Romola Garai
Actress | Atonement
Romola Garai was born on 6th August 1982. She is an English actress-writer-director who has worked extensively on film, television and theatre. As an actress she is known for her performances in films such as Atonement (2007), Angel (2007), I Capture the Castle (2003) and (Suffragette). On ...
783 points
31. Gillian Anderson
Actress | The X Files
Gillian Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Rosemary Alyce (Lane), a computer analyst, and Homer Edward Anderson III, who owned a film post-production company. Gillian started her career as a member of an amateur actor group while at high school. In 1987, her love of the theatre took her to ...
777 points
32. Kerry Washington
Actress | Scandal
Kerry Washington is an African-American actress, television show producer and film director who is known for her roles in Scandal, Ray, the Tim Story Fantastic Four film series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Confirmation, Django Unchained, Little Fires Everywhere, Cars 3 and The Last King of Scotland. She ...
777 points
33. Scarlett Johansson
Actress | Lost in Translation
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her mother, Melanie Sloan is from a Jewish family from the Bronx and her father, Karsten Johansson is a Danish-born architect from Copenhagen. She has a sister, Vanessa Johansson, who is also an actress, ...
772 points
34. Rebecca Hall
Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rebecca Hall was born in London, England, the daughter of Peter Hall, a stage director and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Maria Ewing, an opera singer. Her father was English. Her mother, who is American, is of Dutch and African-American origin. Her parents separated when she was ...
772 points
35. Mirjana Karanovic
Actress | Dobra zena
Mirjana Karanovic was born on January 28, 1957 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. She is an actress and director, known for A Good Wife (2016), Grbavica (2006) and Requiem for Mrs. J (2017).
768 points
36. Mabel Rivera
Actress | Mar adentro
Mabel Rivera was born on June 20, 1952 in Ferrol, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. She is an actress, known for The Sea Inside (2004), Goya's Ghosts (2006) and The Orphanage (2007). She is married to Enrique Banet.
764 points
37. 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 ...
762 points
38. Diana Rigg
Actress | Last Night in Soho
British actress Dame Diana Rigg was born on July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. She has had an extensive career in film and theatre, including playing the title role in "Medea", both in London and New York, for which she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Rigg made her ...
762 points
39. Kate Winslet
Actress | Titanic
Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...
761 points
40. Carice van Houten
Actress | Game of Thrones
One of Europe's most celebrated actresses, Carice van Houten is perhaps best known as 'Melisandre' in the iconic TV show Game of Thrones, a performance for which she has been recognized with an Emmy Award nomination in 2019. Other projects include Paul Verhoeven's award-winning Black Book and Bryan...
761 points
41. Thandiwe Newton
Actress | Crash
Thandiwe Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of Zimbabwean mother Nyasha, a health-care worker from the Shona tribe, and British father Nick Newton, who worked as a lab technician. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK, where she lived in ...
754 points
42. Sandra Hüller
Actress | Anatomie d'une chute
Sandra Hüller was born in Suhl. She studied acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. For her performance of Anneliese Michel in Hans-Christian Schmid's drama Requiem she won The Silver Bear for Best Actress. She is internationally known for her starring role in Maren Ade's Toni...
751 points
43. Hannah Herzsprung
Actress | The Reader
Hannah Herzsprung was born on September 7, 1981 in Hamburg, West Germany. She is an actress, known for The Reader (2008), Who Am I (2014) and Four Minutes (2006).
749 points
44. 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 ...
742 points
45. Fanny Ardant
Actress | 8 femmes
Fanny Ardant was the youngest of five children born to a cavalry officer and his wife. She was raised in Monte Carlo where she was educated at a convent school. A voracious reader, she discovered Proust when she was 15, and felt as though his writings were for her.
When she was 17 her father died, ...
741 points
46. Leïla Bekhti
Actress | Paris, je t'aime
She is a French film and television actress, best known for her roles in Tout ce qui brille (2007) and, in 2006, Paris, je t'aime and Sheitan.
She has already been nominated for 9 awards and won 4, including a César (french movies award) in 2012 as most promising actress.
She met her husband on the ...
741 points
47. Juliette Binoche
Actress | The English Patient
Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only...
741 points
48. Olga Kurylenko
Actress | Oblivion
Olga Kurylenko is a Ukrainian-French actress and model, went from sharing a cramped flat with her aunt, uncle, grandparents and cousin to starring as a Bond girl opposite Daniel Craig.
She was born Olga Konstantinovna Kurylenko on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, Ukraine, Soviet Union. Her mother, ...
741 points
49. Yolande Moreau
Actress | Quand la mer monte...
Yolande Moreau was born on February 27, 1953 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for When the Sea Rises (2004), Amélie (2001) and Seraphine (2008).
741 points
50. Emily Mortimer
Actress | Mary Poppins Returns
British actress Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer was born in Hammersmith, London, England, to writer and barrister Sir John Mortimer and his second wife, Penelope (née Gollop). She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School in West London, and it was whilst there she began acting. Mortimer moved on from ...
741 points
51. Miranda Richardson
Actress | The Crying Game
Miranda Richardson was born in Southport, Lancashire, England on March 3, 1958, to Marian Georgina (Townsend) and William Alan Richardson, a marketing executive. She has one sister, eight years her senior. Her parents and sister are not involved in the performing arts. At an early age she performed...
741 points
52. Gena Rowlands
Actress | The Notebook
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands is an American film, stage, and television actress, whose career in the entertainment industry has spanned over six decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations with her late actor-director husband John Cassavetes ...
741 points
53. Catalina Sandino Moreno
Actress | Maria Full of Grace
Catalina Sandino Moreno made her screen debut as the title character in the critically-acclaimed film "Maria Full of Grace" from Fine Line Features/HBO. For her performance, Sandino was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Performance by...
741 points
54. Ludivine Sagnier
Actress | Lupin
The French actress Ludivine Sagnier was born on July 3, 1979 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, in France's Yvelines department. Ludivine studied acting as a young girl and had made her movie debut at the age 10 in Les maris, les femmes, les amants (1989). She has established her reputation as one of the ...
741 points
55. Leonor Watling
Actress | My Life Without Me
Born in Madrid to a British mother and 'Gaditano' father, Leonor's first years were driven by her desire to become a ballerina. When she was eight years old she began studying classical ballet, but her dreams were cut short by an injury to her knee. This led her to change into the field of acting ...
741 points
56. 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 ...
740 points
57. Carrie-Anne Moss
Actress | The Matrix
Carrie-Anne Moss was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. At age 20, after studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she moved to Europe to pursue a career in modeling. While in Spain she was cast in the TV show Dark Justice which was produced in Barcelona for its first season and Los ...
740 points
58. Emma Thompson
Actress | Sense and Sensibility
Emma Thompson was born on April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, into a family of actors - father Eric Thompson and mother Phyllida Law, who has co-starred with Thompson in several films. Her sister, Sophie Thompson, is an actor as well. Her father was English-born and her mother is Scottish-born. ...
738 points
59. Abbie Cornish
Actress | Bright Star
Abbie Cornish, also known by her rap name Dusk, is an Australian actress and rapper. Following her lead performance in 2004's Somersault, Cornish is best-known for her film roles as the titular heroin addict in the drama Candy (2006), courtier Bess Throckmorton in the historical drama Elizabeth: ...
736 points
60. Miou-Miou
Actress | La science des rêves
Miou-Miou was born Sylvette Herry on February 22, 1950, in Paris, France. Her father was a gendarme, her mother was a sales-woman. Young Miou-Miou was selling strawberries helping out at her mother's fruit and vegetable stand at a street market. There she was spotted by actor-director Romain ...
735 points
61. Birgit Minichmayr
Actress | Der Untergang
Birgit Minichmayr was born on April 3, 1977 in Linz, Upper Austria, Austria. She is an actress, known for Downfall (2004), The White Ribbon (2009) and Everyone Else (2009).
733 points
62. Karoline Herfurth
Actress | Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Karoline Herfurth was born on May 22, 1984 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Text for You (2016) and Einfach mal was Schönes (2022).
733 points
63. Sara Forestier
Actress | Le nom des gens
As of her youth, Sara Forestier revealed an artistic temperament, loving to write, to paint, and especially to act. When she was thirteen and half years old, she decided to accompany one of her friends to an audition. She took the audition with brilliance, and her career in the acting started here....
733 points
64. Corinna Harfouch
Actress | Der Untergang
Growing up as the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne née Kleber, she attended school in Großenhain from 1961 to 1973. She completed her Abitur at the extended high school. After training as a nurse, she began studying textile engineering at the TU Dresden in 1976. From ...
733 points
65. Jessica Schwarz
Actress | Romy
Jessica Schwarz was born on May 5, 1977 in Erbach im Odenwald, Hesse, Germany. She is an actress, known for Romy (2009), Nichts bereuen (2001) and Buddenbrooks (2008).
733 points
66. Brittany Murphy
Actress | Clueless
Brittany Murphy was born Brittany Anne Bertolotti on November 10, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, to Sharon Kathleen Murphy and Angelo Joseph Bertolotti. Her father's ancestry is Italian, and her mother is of Irish and Slovak descent. Her father moved the family back to Edison, New Jersey as a native New...
732 points
67. Marcia Gay Harden
Actress | Mystic River
Marcia Gay Harden was born on August 14, 1959, in La Jolla, California, the third of five children. Her mother, Beverly (Bushfield), was a homemaker, and her father, Thad Harold Harden, was in the military. The family relocated often -- she first became interested in the theatre when the family was...
732 points
68. 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 ...
732 points
69. Mary Steenburgen
Actress | Last Vegas
Mary Steenburgen is an Academy Award-winning American actress.
She was born in Newport, Arkansas, USA. Her mother, Nellie May (Wall) Steenburgen, was a school-board secretary, and her father, Maurice H. Steenburgen, was a freight-train conductor. Her surname comes from distant Dutch ancestry, and ...
732 points
70. Mary Beth Hurt
Actress | The World According to Garp
Mary Beth Hurt was born on September 26, 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa, USA. She is an actress, known for The World According to Garp (1982), Lady in the Water (2006) and Interiors (1978). She has been married to Paul Schrader since August 6, 1983. They have two children. She was previously married to ...
732 points
71. Lily Tomlin
Actress | Nashville
Lily Tomlin was born September 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, to Lillie Mae (Ford) and Guy Tomlin, who moved to Michigan from Paducah, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Her mother was a nurse's aide and her father was a factory worker. She graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1957, and ...
730 points
72. 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 ...
730 points
73. Virginia Madsen
Actress | Sideways
One of the hottest stars of the mid-1980s, Virginia Madsen has since played a variety of roles that have cemented her reputation as a fantastic actress who can adapt to any part.
Virginia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and belongs to an acting family -- with her brother, Michael Madsen, also an ...
730 points
74. Maya Rudolph
Actress | Bridesmaids
Maya Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida, to Richard Rudolph, a music producer, and soul singer Minnie Riperton. Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish (from a family from Lithuania, Russia, Germany, and Hungary). In 1973, Maya, her parents, and her...
730 points
75. Miki Nakatani
Actress | Kiraware Matsuko no isshô
Miki Nakatani was born on January 12, 1976 in Tokyo, Japan. She is an actress, known for Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006), Ring 2 (1999) and Ringu (1998).
730 points
76. Helen Mirren
Actress | The Queen
Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. ...
729 points
77. Paula Patton
Actress | Precious
Paula Patton was born in Los Angeles, California, to Joyce (Vanraden) and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American and her mother, who is caucasian, has German, English, and Dutch ancestry. Her family lived across the street from the 20th Century Fox lot when she was growing up and she was a ...
728 points
78. Renée Zellweger
Actress | Chicago
Renée Kathleen Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (Andreassen), is a Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife, of Norwegian, Kven (Finnish), and Swedish descent. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is a Swiss-born engineer. The two married in 1963. Renée ...
725 points
79. Emily Watson
Actress | Gosford Park
Emily Watson was born and raised in London, the daughter of Katharine (Venables), an English teacher, and Richard Watson, an architect. After a self-described sheltered upbringing, Watson attended university for three years in Bristol, studying English literature. She applied to drama school and ...
725 points
80. Vanessa Redgrave
Actress | Coriolanus
On January 30, 1937, renowned theatre actor Michael Redgrave was performing in a production of Hamlet in London. During the curtain call, the show's lead, Laurence Olivier, announced to the audience: "tonight a great actress was born". This was in reference to his co-star's newborn daughter, ...
720 points
81. Sabine Azéma
Actress | Mélo
Sabine Azéma was born on September 20, 1949 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Mélo (1986), A Sunday in the Country (1984) and Private Fears in Public Places (2006).
720 points
82. Isabelle Carré
Actress | Les émotifs anonymes
Isabelle Carré was born on May 28, 1971 in Paris, France. She is an actress, known for Romantics Anonymous (2010), Anna M. (2007) and Se souvenir des belles choses (2001). She has been married to Bruno Pesery since August 26, 2006. They have one child.
720 points
83. Laura Morante
Actress | La cerise sur le gâteau
Laura Morante was born on August 21, 1956 in Santa Fiora, Tuscany, Italy. She is an actress and writer, known for Cherry on the Cake (2012), The Son's Room (2001) and Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981). She has been married to Francesco Giammatteo since October 3, 2004. She was previously married ...
720 points
84. Luminita Gheorghiu
Actress | 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile
Luminita Gheorghiu studied Ion Cojar's acting method under Ion Cojar himself at what is now called the National University of Theatre and Film from Bucharest. She had played in tens of movies and theatre shows since her graduation in 1972, but her real international breakthrough came with a role in...
717 points
85. Katharina Thalbach
Actress | Die Blechtrommel
Katharina Thalbach was born on January 19, 1954 in East Berlin, East Germany. She is an actress and director, known for The Tin Drum (1979), Der Minister (2013) and I've Never Been to New York (2019). She is married to Uwe Hamacher.
715 points
86. Amy Smart
Actress | Starship Troopers
Amy Smart was born in Topanga Canyon, California to Judy, who worked at a museum, and John Boden Smart, a salesman. She has German, English, and Irish ancestry.
Smart was a relatively new arrival when she first gained notice for her supporting roles in the 1999 hit teen films Varsity Blues (1999) and...
715 points
87. Diane Kruger
Actress | Inglourious Basterds
Diane Kruger was born Diane Heidkrüger in Algermissen, near Hildesheim, Germany, to Maria-Theresa, a bank employee, and Hans-Heinrich Heidkrüger, a computer specialist. She studied ballet with the Royal Ballet in London before an injury ended her career. She returned to Germany and became a top ...
708 points
88. Jowita Budnik
Actress | Plac Zbawiciela
Jowita Budnik is a Polish actress who studied at the University of Warsaw. She made her screen debut at the age of 12 in Kochankowie mojej mamy (1986). She gained popularity from her role in W labiryncie (1988). Her career took a turn when she met Krzysztof Krauze, who cast her in one of the main ...
708 points
89. Julianne Moore
Actress | Far from Heaven
Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on December 3, 1960, the daughter of Anne (Love), a social worker, and Peter Moore Smith, a paratrooper, colonel, and later military judge. Her mother moved to the U.S. in 1951, from Greenock, Scotland. Her father, from ...
708 points
90. Catherine Frot
Actress | Marguerite
Catherine Frot was born on May 1, 1956 in Paris, France. She is an actress and writer, known for Marguerite (2015), Le Dîner de Cons (1998) and Family Resemblances (1996). She has been married to Michel Couvelard since 1987. They have one child.
706 points
91. Déborah François
Actress | Populaire
The daughter of a police officer and a social worker and the middle of three siblings, Déborah François was cast by the Dardenne brothers in L'enfant in 2005 while she was in high school. Between the ages of 10 to 16 François had taken acting classes but she did not expect to make acting her career...
706 points
92. Gong Li
Actress | Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia
Born in Shenyang, grew up in Jinan, the daughter of an economics professor. Loved music from childhood, and dreamed of a singing career. After failing to gain entrance to China's top music school in 1985, applied for and was admitted to the Central Drama Academy in Beijing, from which she graduated...
703 points
93. Demi Moore
Actress | G.I. Jane
Demi Moore was born 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico. Her father Charles Harmon left her mother Virginia Guynes (née King) before Demi was born. Her stepfather Danny Guynes didn't add much stability to her life either. He frequently changed jobs and made the family move a total of 40 times. The parents ...
703 points
94. Sharon Stone
Actress | Basic Instinct
Sharon Stone was born and raised in Meadville, a small town in Pennsylvania. Her strict father was a factory worker, and her mother was a homemaker. She was the second of four children. At the age of 15, she studied in Saegertown High School, Pennsylvania, and at that same age, entered Edinboro ...
703 points
95. Joy Bryant
Actress | Bobby
Joy Bryant was born in a modest home in The Bronx, New York and as a young woman, was enrolled in an inner-city outreach organization called "A Better Chance," designed to encourage minority talent. Joy was also blessed with brains as well beauty and remained an excellent student throughout her ...
703 points
96. Heather Graham
Actress | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Heather Joan Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Joan (Bransfield), a schoolteacher and children's book author, and James Graham, an FBI agent. She and her sister, actress Aimee Graham, were raised by their strictly Catholic parents. They relocated often, as a result of their father's ...
703 points
97. Helen Hunt
Actress | As Good as It Gets
Helen Hunt began studying acting at the age of eight with her father, respected director and acting coach Gordon Hunt. A year later she made her professional debut and afterwards worked steadily in films, theatre and television.
703 points
98. Ayesha Dharker
Actress | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Ayesha Dharker was born in 1977 in Bombay, India. She is an actress, known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), The Father (2020) and Outsourced (2006).
701 points
99. Isabelle Renauld
Actress | Parfait amour!
Isabelle Renauld was born on November 24, 1966 in Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, France. She is an actress, known for Perfect Love (1996), Eternity and a Day (1998) and Vidocq (2001).
701 points
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