FilmChik

After reading Jandy’s list of her favorite 20 actresses, in reponse to Nathaniel R. of Film Experience meme, I decided to create my own version.  

20. Joan Crawford – She was the ultimate bitch.  If you haven’t read or seen “Mommie Dearest,” do it now so you can see what I am talking about.  There was a power struggle between Bette Davis and her.  I read that during the taping of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?,” Crawford placed rocks underneath her dress when Davis had to drag her around.  Maybe this passion, this bitchiness is what made this woman such an amazing actress.  

Most Memorable Movies: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Women, Mildred Pierce

19. Norma Shearer - She was MGM’s golden girl.  Shearer tragically passed away at the age of 37 from a heart attack.  Shearer retired in 1942 and shunned the limelight (Thanks to Evangeline).  However, she will always be remembered as a great Hollywood actress.  She was set to play Scarlett O’Hara, but there were people that opposed it due to her cross-eyed stare.  Of course, Vivian Leigh played the role wonderfully, but you have to wonder how Shearer would have performed.

 

Most Memorable Movies: The Women, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Divorcee

18. Sarah Polley - I remember loving Polley since I was a little girl, and she was as well.  She played Sally Salt in “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,” which was one of my favorite movies as  a child, and did an impeccable job.  Polley grew up and has become a better actress through the passing years.  

Most Memorable Movies: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Dawn of the Dead, My Life Without Me

17. Sissy Spacek - Spacek is one of the most underrated actresses.  People know she is a great actress but they always seem to pass her by.  She has played so many different characters in a way that you sometimes have to remind yourself that it’s one woman.  If she makes you cry, scream, or laugh, Spacek is a heck of an actress.

Most Memorable Movies: Coal Miner’s Daughter, Night Mother, Carrie

16.  Shirley MacLaine - I don’t know how this particular household was, but it produced two great actors: MacLaine and Warren Beatty.  She was sometimes overshadowed by her gorgeous brother, but this woman could definitely hold her own.  Even now, she is still playing in films and is amazing at delivering lines.  She played a controversial role in “The Children’s Hour,” which also starred Audrey Hepburn, with such detail and passion that it practically leaves you breathless.

Most Memorable Movies: Terms of Endearment, The Children’s Hour, What a Way to Go!

15. Emma Thompson - This woman is one of my favorite actresses today.  She is versatile like the actresses in the past, which is something that is lacking in many of the ones today.  She has such a sweet face, but in a flash, you might want to rethink that thought.  If she is playing a spinster, Hillary-Clinton-type character, or a crazy loon, Thompson always delivers.  Thompson is someone who will, or should, be remembered 50 years from now.  

Most Memorable Movies: Sense and Sensibility, Howard’s End, Nanny McPhee

14. Olivia de Havilland - Like MacLaine, Havilland was part of a sister duo who were both great actresses.  Her sister was Joan Fontaine.  I learned that they had such sibling rivalry that even til this day, they do not speak.  Yes, they are both alive.  I have two sisters, and I can’t imagine never speaking to them, even when we are in our 90’s.  She played in some of my favorite movies of all time, and she was probably one of the reasons that they are.

Most Memorable Movies: Gone With the Wind, The Heiress, Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte

13.  Juliette Binoche – She is the only French actress on the list.  If I had a longer list, I would have also added Audrey Tatou, but I don’t.  In every film that I watch with Binoche, I fall in love with her more and more.  She is such a classic beauty who plays each role with such perfection that you almost believe all the movies are based off true stories.  

Most Memorable Movies: Blue, Chocolat, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

12. Myrna Loy – Every time I saw Loy on the screen, I thought she was this smart beauty about her.  She was able to hold her own with such leading men as William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Robert Montgomery (father of Bewitched’s Samantha).  I just adore her.  She was so captivating 

Most Memorable Movies: The Thin Man series, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Best Years of Our Lives

11. Glenn Close - You can now see her on “Damages,” and she is still an amazing actress.  This woman can be a total bitch, psychotic, or sweet in the blink of the eye.  She isn’t a beauty but has such sex appeal that you forget that minor detail.  As a child, she played in some of my favorite movies — Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction.  Close is definitely one of the best actresses today.

Most Memorable Movies:  Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Sarah, Plain and Tall

10. Emily Watson - She always seems to play complex, disturbed characters.  It might be the reason that I love her so much is because I feel she sometimes is telling my story.  One thing that I love about her is that every time you watch one of her films, you have to watch it more than once.  The reason is that you catch something new in the way she delivers a line.  

Most Memorable Movies:  Hliary and Jackie, Breaking the Waves, The Luzhin Defence

9. Jodie Foster- Jodie Foster has been one of my favorite since she played tomboys and hookers.  It’s always shocking to see a child star slowly evolve into an amazing actress.   She doesn’t play in that many movies now, but when she does, you have to go watch her, even if the movie sucks.  

Most Memorable Movies: Taxi Driver, The Accused, Silence of the Lambs

8. Meryl Streep - She is the best actresses ever.  One of the only few of this time and age that will be remembered as such.  All of her performances are so powerful and unique that it makes you wonder if Streep suffers from multiple personalities.  I can’t wait to see her in “Doubt.” I am not much of a moviegoer, more of a Netflix-er, but for this movie, I am going to venture out.

Most Memorable Movies:  Sophie’s Choice, Silkwood, Kramer vs. Kramer

7. Barbara Stanwyck - There was such a smartness and beauty about Stanwyck that you couldn’t help but fall in love with her.  She had pizzazz in a way that has made her one of the best actresses of all time. She was nominated four times for an Academy Award and never won.  However, she was given an honorary Academy Award in the sixties.  It’s something that Stanwyck definitely deserved. 

Most Memorable Movies:  Double Indemnity, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number

6.  Kate Winslet – I fell in love with her in “Heavenly Creatures.”  Any and every movie that Winslet graces, I have to quickly watch.  She is a fine actress who I can see still being a wonderful actress when she is well into her 70’s.  I definitely have to watch “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader.”  I can’t imagine Winslet delivering a bad performance.

Most Memorable Movies: Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility, Quills

5.   Natalie Wood - She played in one of my favorite movies of all time, “Splendor in the Grass.”  I remember watching “West Side Story” as a child and wanting to be beautiful like her.  Wood lived a tragic life.  It seems as though tragedy sometimes makes people better actors, writers, etc.  It definitely did for Wood.  For me, she is one of the most beautiful actresses of all time.  She was so breathtaking.

Most Memorable Movies: Splendor in the Grass, Rebel Without a Cause, Sex and the Single Girl

4.   Gong Li – She is like Kate Winslet.  Any movie Gong Li is in, I have to watch.  I have watched every film that has been translated into English that stars her.  She is known as China’s jewel, and well deserved because she is beautiful and talented.  Her acting skills are superb and there is no one nowadays that has her skill.  I can keep writing praises, but I don’t want to bore people.

Most Memorable Movies:  Ju Duo, Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell My Concubine

3. Audrey Hepburn - There are so many words to describe Hepburn.  She was one of the prettiest actresses that has graced Hollywood, but it didn’t make you forget that she was also a supreme actress.  It will be hard to just pick three of her films because I loved all of them so much.  I was upset that Hewitt was picked to play her in a movie of her life.  I felt it didn’t do Hepburn actress.  On top of being beautiful and skilled, this woman was such a charitable person.  Definitely the total package!

Most Memorable Movies: My Fair Lady, Wait Until Dark, Funny Face

2.   Katharine Hepburn – I love this woman!  She had this sultry voice that I tried to mimic as a child, and could act with just her eyes.  Hepburn could be funny, tragic, or exhilirating.  I always got excited when one of her movies would come on AMC or TCM.  Her partner, on and off screen, was Spencer Tracy.  They made such a great duo.  You could see their interaction and know that they had true love, which is something that people wish to have their entire lives and never obtain.  It’s said that she never watched “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” because it was Tracy’s last film.  

Most Memorable Movies: The Philadelphia Story, Suddenly, Last Summer, The Lion in Winter

DRUMROLLS PLEASE

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1.  Bette Davis – Who else would be number one?!  Come on, this woman rocked every movie that she was in.  I have seen almost all of her films and are always mesmerized that one person could play so many versatile roles.  There has and hasn’t been any actress that has been able to compare to Ms. Davis.  She even had songs made about her.  If I could bring one person back from the dead to have dinner with, she would be it.  I love, LOVE her, and I can’t say it enough.  I think I now know what I want for Christmas.  

Most Memorable Movies: All of them

 

Further Reading:

• 5 Most Popular Posts on FilmChik
• I’ve Watched 229 out of 239 Movies. Movie Fanatic, No Life, or Both?
• Top Ten Movies for the BrokenHearted
• Five Best Christmas Movies in the 2000s
• The French Know How to Take Revenge

Tags: actors, actresses, all time, art, celebrities, favorite, list, movies