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Top Actresses Movie Stars
Build your taste profile and get better suggestions. You've rated 0 of 51 movie stars. Want more suggestions? Launch Quick Rate- Sandra Bullock
in The Proposal, All About Steve, The Blind Side
Sandra Bullock was born into a performing arts family on July 26, 1964, in Washington, D.C. Her mother was an opera singer, and her father was a voice teacher; the family often shuttled between Salzburg, Austria, and Arlington, Va., for her mother's work. Sandra won the 2010 Oscar for Best Actress...
- Anne Hathaway
in Alice in Wonderland, Bride Wars, Passengers
Born on Nov. 12, 1982, in Brooklyn, the doe-eyed Anne Hathaway began acting as a child, making history as the first teen to be accepted into The Barrow Group acting school. She first appeared on-camera in the short-lived TV drama "Get Real" (1999-2000) and landed her first film role in The Other...
- Reese Witherspoon
in Monsters vs. Aliens, Four Christmases, Rendition
One of the most successful female stars of her generation, Reese Witherspoon was born in New Orleans, La., on March 22, 1976. Her family spent the first four years of her life living on an Army base in Germany and eventually settled in Nashville. After years of acting locally, Witherspoon was cast...
- Angelina Jolie
in Salt, Changeling, Wanted
Angelina Jolie was born June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles, Calif. As the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, Jolie was quickly immersed in showbiz and made her screen debut at age 5 in the comedy Lookin' to Get Out. She began studying acting at age 11 at the Lee Strasberg Theater...
- Scarlett Johansson
in The Island, He's Just Not That Into You, Iron Man 2
Johansson's performance as Grace in The Horse Whisperer (1998) earned her a Hollywood Reporter Young Star award. And previously her Manny & Lo (1996) role received a nod by the Independent Spirit Awards. Scarlett has an older brother and sister and a twin brother. She divides her time between New...
- Julia Roberts
in Duplicity, Fireflies in the Garden, Charlie Wilson's War
Celebrated as much for her captivating smile as for her acting prowess, Julia Roberts was born in Smyrna, Ga., on Oct. 28, 1967. She left home for New York City after graduating from high school and quickly landed work as a model. The acting bug bit her soon after, and she eventually nabbed her...
- Kate Winslet
in The Sunshine Boy, Revolutionary Road, The Reader
A worldwide star by her early twenties, Kate Winslet was born in Berkshire, England, on Oct. 5, 1975, to a theatrical family. A performer since childhood, she won the lead in her first film, 1994's Heavenly Creatures, while working at a deli. Next, she beat out more than 100 contenders for the role...
- Meryl Streep
in Julie & Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Doubt
Born June 22, 1949, in Summit, N.J., the extraordinarily talented Meryl Streep can file high school homecoming queen as one of her credits, although that claim to fame is likely listed well below her place as one of the Academy Awards' most decorated actresses.
- Ellen Page
in Whip It!, Peacock, Smart People
Canadian actress Ellen Page was born Feb. 21, 1987, and reared in Halifax, Nova Scotia. By the age of 10, she already had an agent. By age 20, Page had chalked up an Oscar nod for Best Actress (along with a pair of Independent Spirit and Golden Globe nominations) for her portrayal of a pregnant...
- Gwyneth Paltrow
in Iron Man 2, Iron Man, Two Lovers
The daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth was born September 28, 1972, in Los Angeles. After attending the University of California at Santa Barbara, she made her first appearances in small roles in two 1991 films, Shout and Hook.
- Audrey Hepburn
in Breakfast At Tiffany's, Sabrina, Charade
The daughter of a wealthy English banker and a Dutch baroness, Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929, in Brussels, Belgium. After ballet school in London and a successful start in modeling, she caught the eye of movie producers; when she garnered only small roles in European films, Hepburn decided...
- Helena Bonham Carter
in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, Alice in Wonderland, Terminator Salvation
Descended from British nobility, Helena Bonham Carter was born in London May 26, 1966. With her porcelain complexion and doe eyes, she was ideally cast as the archetypal English heroine in a string of period films that brought her critical adulation and international fame.
- Julie Andrews
in Despicable Me, The Tooth Fairy, Shrek the Third
Born in Surrey, England, on October 1, 1935, Julie Andrews began performing in musicals as a child, making her Broadway debut at age 19. Her theatre success, most famously as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady," led to steady television and film work.
- Charlize Theron
in The Road, The Brazilian Job, Hancock
With ballet as her first profession and modeling her second, stunning Charlize Theron certainly turns heads. Born August 7, 1975, in South Africa, Theron modeled briefly in Milan at age 16. When her return to a career in dance was abruptly ended by a knee injury, Theron turned her sights to...
- Uma Thurman
in Pulp Fiction, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Kill Bill Vol. 1
Born in Boston on April 29, 1970, Uma Thurman grew up in a spiritual household with a father who taught Buddhist studies at New York's Columbia University. Although she made her film debut in Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987), it was her role in 1989's erotically charged Dangerous Liaisons that first...
- Nicole Kidman
in To Die For, The Hours, Cold Mountain
One of Australia's most honored actresses, vibrant, statuesque redhead Nicole Kidman was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 20, 1967. After a short stint in Washington, D.C., the family moved to her parents' native Sydney when Nicole was 3 years old. A long string of successful movies...
- Jodie Foster
in Taxi Driver, The Accused, Contact
Born Nov. 19, 1962, in Los Angeles, Jodie Foster landed her first acting job as an adorable tyke in a Coppertone commercial. She soon became a television mainstay, starring in shows such as "My Three Sons," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and "The Partridge Family." Her breakthrough role came in...
- Penélope Cruz
in All About My Mother, Nine, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Always the performer, Penélope Cruz (born April 28, 1974, in Madrid) began reenacting TV commercials when she was a toddler and studied classical ballet during her youth. Her big break, however, came at age 15 when she beat out hundreds of girls at a talent agency audition.
- Halle Berry
in Monster's Ball, Losing Isaiah, Gothika
Halle Berry, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 14, 1966, began her career in beauty pageants, winning the Miss Teen All-American Pageant in 1986. Spike Lee cast her in her first movie role in Jungle Fever (1991), and she's been working steadily ever since, earning an Oscar for her...
- Sigourney Weaver
in Alien, Avatar, You Again
Sigourney Weaver was born Susan Alexandra Weaver, on October 8, 1949, in Leroy Hospital in New York City. Her father, TV producer Sylvester L. Weaver Jr., originally wanted to name her Flavia, because of his passion for Roman history (he had already named her elder brother Trajan). Her mother...
- Kirsten Dunst
in Interview with a Vampire, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Spider-Man
Born April 30, 1982, in Point Pleasant, N.J., Kirsten Dunst began her road to stardom by becoming a model at age 4 and appearing in television commercials and small film and television roles. Her big break came with the role of young vampire Claudia in Interview with the Vampire (1994), working...
- Salma Hayek
in Frida, Wild, Wild West, Fools Rush In
Hayek was born September 2, 1966, in Veracruz, Mexico, to a Mexican mother and a Lebanese father. She was a superstar of Latin American soap operas but dreamed of American stardom. In Hollywood, she found roles for Latino actresses scarce, but she persevered, making her U.S. debut in Mi Vida Loca...
- Michelle Pfeiffer
in Personal Effects, Chéri, Stardust
Born in Santa Ana, Calif., on April 29, 1958, Michelle Pfeiffer was studying to be a court reporter in college when she decided a change of career was in order. It wasn't long before movie audiences took notice of her leading role as Stephanie in Grease 2 (1982).
- Susan Sarandon
in Dead Man Walking, Bull Durham, Thelma & Louise
Born October 4, 1946, in Jackson Heights, N.Y., Susan Sarandon was the eldest of nine children in a family of Welsh-Italian decent. Sarandon attended Catholic University, where she met her future husband, actor Chris Sarandon. After relocating to New York City and working in largely forgettable...
- Diane Keaton
in Annie Hall, Baby Boom, Something's Gotta Give
This versatile actor-director was born January 5, 1946, in Los Angeles, Calif., and studied drama in California and New York. Woody Allen cast her in his Broadway play "Play It Again, Sam" in 1970, as well as in 1972's movie version. Over the next years, she appeared in several more Allen films...
- Kathy Bates
in Misery, Primary Colors, About Schmidt
This outstanding character actress was born June 28, 1948, in Memphis, Tenn. She graduated with a BFA in theater from Southern Methodist University and made a brief film debut in Taking Off (1971). Bates excelled in theater while making occasional films in the 1970s and '80s; the female lead in the...
- Jennifer Connelly
in Requiem for the Dark, A Beautiful Mind, Dark City
Born in New York's Catskill Mountains on December 12, 1970, Jennifer Connelly grew up in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. She began appearing as a model in print ads at age 10 and eventually appeared in television commercials. Her first film role was in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America (1984)...
- Cate Blanchett
in Elizabeth, The Aviator, Notes on a Scandal
Best known for her portrayal of an iconic British royal (Elizabeth, for which she won numerous awards and nominations, including one for the Oscar), Cate Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Australia, on May 14, 1969. After a short stint traveling in Europe and North Africa, she enrolled at the...
- Hilary Swank
in Amelia, Betty Anne Waters, Birds of America
Born July 30, 1974, in Bellingham, Wa., Hilary Swank was discovered in childhood by producer Suzy Sachs. While training as an actress, Swank was also a champion swimmer and gymnast. She made her film debut in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) and, two years later, beat out hundreds of...
- Renée Zellweger
in Chicago, Bridget Jones's Diary, Jerry Maguire
Born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, Renee Kathleen Zellweger developed an early interest in acting as a member of her high school's drama club. After graduating from the University of Texas, Renee was hesitant to tackle Hollywood, so she grabbed small roles in feature films -- Reality Bites...
- Marilyn Monroe
in Monkey Business, Seven-Year Itch, The Misfits
With her platinum-blond hair, curvaceous figure and wide-eyed charm, Marilyn Monroe became a legend in her own time. Born in Los Angeles June 1, 1926, she began her career with a modeling stint that landed her in the public eye, and she soon inked a film contract. She married a famous athlete, then...
- Judi Dench
in Nine, Rage, Quantum of Solace
Born in York, England, on Dec. 9, 1934, to amateur-actor parents, Judith Olivia Dench has been acting since she was 5 years old. Dench rose quickly through the ranks of British theatre, eventually joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.She made her film debut in The Third Secret (1964) and...
- Judy Garland
in Hollywood Singing and Dancing: The 1940s, All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music, MGM: When the Lion Roars
Judy Garland (June 10, 1922-June 22, 1969), born Frances Ethel Gumm, was an American film actress considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywood's Golden Era of musical film. Garland's singing voice had a natural vibrato, which she was able to maintain at extremely low...
- Helen Mirren
in State of Play, The Tempest, Love Ranch
A descendant of Russian aristocracy, Helen Mirren was born Ilynea Lydia Mironoff on July 26, 1945, in London. A veteran of Britain's esteemed National Youth Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company, Mirren first appeared on-screen in 1967's Herostratus, followed by Peter Hall's 1968 A Midsummer...
- Emma Thompson
in Last Chance Harvey, Howard's End, In the Name of the Father
Born April 19, 1959, in London, Emma Thompson is the daughter of actress Phyllida Law. While studying English Literature at Cambridge, Thompson also began acting and got her professional start on BBC sitcoms in the late 1980s. She made her film debut with 1989's The Tall Guy, followed the same...
- Katharine Hepburn
in The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby, The African Queen
Born May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Conn., Katharine Hepburn was the second of six children of a surgeon and a suffragette. She began acting on Broadway soon after her 1928 graduation from Bryn Mawr. Her many successes include The African Queen and three films with Cary Grant (Holiday, Bringing Up...
- Elizabeth Taylor
in Julia Misbehaves, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Elizabeth Taylor was born in London Feb. 27, 1932, to American parents who fled the oncoming war in 1939 by returning to the United States. In 1942, the budding beauty caught the eye of talent scouts in Los Angeles and was cast in There's One Born Every Minute. The following year, she was signed to...
- Naomi Watts
in Tank Girl, Mulholland Drive, 21 Grams
Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British-born, Australian raised actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in commercials and series. She is known for her roles in films such as Mulholland Drive (2001), The Ring (2002) and 21 Grams (2003), for...
- Shirley Temple
in A Kiss for Corliss, The Little Princess, Honeymoon
The most popular star of the 1930s was also the most diminutive -- the dimpled, dancing dynamo Shirley Temple, who made more than 40 movies before reaching the ripe old age of 12.Born April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, Calif., Temple made her first film appearance in the two-reel comedy series Baby...
- Ingrid Bergman
in Casablanca, Spellbound, Gaslight
Known as much for her beauty as her talent, Ingrid Bergman will always be best remembered as Humphrey Bogart's lost love in Casablanca. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 29, 1915, Bergman had a career spanning five decades, during which she won three Oscars, two Emmys, four Golden Globes and a...
- Shirley MacLaine
in Coco Chanel, Hollywood Singing and Dancing: The 1960s, Closing the Ring
Born in Richmond, Va., on April 24, 1934, Shirley MacLaine moved to New York City and spent years as a Broadway chorus girl, eventually becoming an understudy to Carol Haney in "The Pajama Game." The first time she went on in Haney's place, she made a big impression on audiences and producers alike.
- Annette Bening
in The Women, Running with Scissors, Mrs. Harris
Born May 5, 1958, in Topeka, Kansas, Bening eventually moved with her family to San Diego, where she performed at the city's repertory theater. She later headed north, graduating from San Francisco State University. Bening's time studying and acting at the American Conservatory Theater paid off...
- Sissy Spacek
in Get Low, Four Christmases, Lake City
Born December 25, 1949, Sissy Spacek was a popular, outgoing girl growing up in Quitman, Texas. After high school, she studied at the Actors Studio and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. In the wake of her film debut in Prime Cut (1972), Spacek boldly displayed her talent with a series of...
- Bette Davis
in Larry King Live: Greatest Interviews Collection, Never Apologize: A Personal Visit with Lindsay Anderson, Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
One of the silver screen's legendary divas, Bette Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Mass., to parents who divorced when she was quite young. After high school, Davis enrolled in John Murray Anderson's Dramatic School, where she was considered by everyone (including classmate Lucille Ball) to...
- Faye Dunaway
in Midnight Bayou, The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi, The Ultimate Frank Sinatra Collection
Faye Dunaway was born January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Fla. An Army brat, she lived throughout the United States and Europe before studying theater at Boston University and earning a degree from the University of Florida. In 1962, Dunaway joined the Lincoln Center Repertory Co., and from 1962 through...
- Frances McDormand
in Fargo, Barton Fink, North Country
McDormand was born in Chicago, Illinois and was adopted by the McDormands, a Canadian couple: Noreen, a registered nurse and receptionist, and Vernon, a Disciples of Christ pastor. Frances has said that her biological mother may have been one of the parishioners at Vernon's church. She has a...
- Lauren Bacall
in Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King, The Walker, Toots
Born in New York City on Sept. 16, 1924, Lauren Bacall studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After a stint as a model and off-Broadway performer, she was cast by Howard Hawks in To Have and Have Not (1944), opposite her future husband Humphrey Bogart, and the rest is history.
- Mia Farrow
in Rosemary's Baby, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo
The daughter of film director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan, Maria "Mia" de Lourdes Villiers Farrow was born Feb. 9, 1945. After suffering from polio as a young child and spending a year in an iron lung, Farrow got her big break as a willowy teenager while acting off-Broadway, thanks...
- Liza Minnelli
in Cabaret, New York, New York, Arthur
Born March 12, 1946, to a pair of famous parents -- acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli and entertainer Judy Garland -- Liza Minnelli spent her childhood cloaked in stardom, making her first big-screen appearance as a toddler in Easter Parade (1948).
- Emily Watson
in Synecdoche, New York, Fireflies in the Garden, Cold Souls
Rejected on her first application to drama school, Emily Watson more than made up for that disappointment when she received an Oscar nomination for her first film appearance -- as the female lead in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996). Born Jan. 19, 1967, in London, Watson eventually was...
- Samantha Morton
in Synecdoche, New York, Max & Ruby: Perfect Pumpkin, The Messenger
Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and film director. Morton has twice been nominated for an Academy Award, twice for a BAFTA Award, twice for a Golden Globe and once each for an Emmy Award and SAG Award. Morton's acting has been recognised by several organizations...
