54 Most Beautiful Actresses of All-Time

1. Gene Tierney

Actress | Laura

With prominent cheekbones, luminous skin and the most crystalline green eyes of her day, Gene Tierney's striking good looks helped propel her to stardom. Her best known role is the enigmatic murder victim in Laura (1944). She was also Oscar-nominated for Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Her acting ...

2. Hedy Lamarr

Actress | Samson and Delilah

Hedy Lamarr, the woman many critics and fans alike regard as the most beautiful ever to appear in films, was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria. She was the daughter of Gertrud (Lichtwitz), from Budapest, and Emil Kiesler, a banker from Lemberg (now known as Lviv). Her parents were ...

3. Sharon Tate

Actress | Valley of the Dolls

Sharon's early life was one of constant moving as her father served in the military. When she lived in Italy, she was voted "Homecoming Queen" of her high school. After being an extra in a few Italian films, Sharon headed to Hollywood where she would again start as an extra. Her first big break ...

4. Brooke Shields

Actress | The Blue Lagoon

"Want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." If you have not heard of Brooke Shields before, this tagline from her Calvin Klein Jeans ad had to grab your attention. Not that she has not had a previously noteworthy resume. She was born on May 31, 1965 in New York City, to Teri (...

C. Endless Love.

5. 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 ...

6. Catherine Zeta-Jones

Actress | Chicago

Catherine Zeta-Jones was born September 25, 1969 in Swansea, Wales (and raised in the nearby town of Mumbles), the only daughter of Patricia (nee Fair) and David James "Dai" Jones, who formerly owned a sweet factory. She attended Dumbarton House School (Swansea). Her father (the son of Bertram (...

C. The Phantom.

7. Isabelle Adjani

Actress | Possession

Isabelle Yasmine Adjani was born in Gennevilliers, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris, to Emma Augusta "Gusti" (Schweinberger) and Mohammed Adjani. Her father was a Kabyle Algerian, from Iferhounène, and her mother was a Bavarian German. She grew up speaking German fluently. After winning a school ...

8. 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 ...

9. Monica Bellucci

Actress | Malèna

Monica Anna Maria Bellucci was born on September 30, 1964 in the Italian village of Città di Castello, Umbria, the only child of Brunella Briganti and Pasquale Bellucci. She originally pursued a career in the legal profession. While attending the University of Perugia, she modeled on the side to ...

10. 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 ...

11. Virna Lisi

Actress | La reine Margot

Stunning Italian actress Virna Lisi, a brief but lovely Hollywood import in the 1960's, was merely one of a plethora of European movie beauties who proved over the course of their long careers, that they were capable of more than just visual performances.

Born Virna Lisa Pieralisi on November 8, ...

12. 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 ...

13. Jaclyn Smith

Actress | The Adventurers

Jaclyn Smith was born Jacquelyn Ellen Smith on October 26, 1945 in Houston, Texas. She graduated from high school and originally aspired to be a famous ballerina. In 1973, she landed a job as a Breck shampoo model. In 1976, she was offered a chance to star in a new pilot for a planned television ...

14. Sophie Marceau

Actress | La boum

Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in Paris, France, to Simone (Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. She grew up far from the studio spotlights. When she was 14 she was living in the Paris suburb of Gentilly with her father. She learned from friends that ...

15. Emmanuelle Béart

Actress | 8 femmes

Emmanuelle Béart was born August 14, 1963, in Gassin, France. She lived with her mother, brothers, and sister on a farm not far from Saint-Tropez in Provence (southern France), because her father, singer and poet Guy Béart, did not want his children to be affected by the glamour world of Paris. ...

C. Un Coeur en Hiver

16. Anita Louise

Actress | The Little Princess

An actress from the age of 6, Anita appeared with Walter Hampden in the Broadway production of Peter Ibbetson. As a juvenile actor, Anita used the name Louise Fremault and made her film debut at 9 in the film The Sixth Commandment (1924). She continued to make films as a child actor, and in 1929, ...

17. Nastassja Kinski

Actress | Tess

Nastassja Kinski was born Nastassja Aglaia Nakszynski on January 24, 1961 in Berlin, Germany, the daughter of German actor Klaus Kinski. In 1976, she met director Roman Polanski, who urged her to study method acting with Lee Strasberg in the United States. Kinski starred in the Italian romantic ...

18. Marine Vacth

Actress | Jeune et Jolie

Marine Vacth was born on April 9, 1991 in Paris. She grew up in the Paris suburb of Maisons-Alfort with a younger brother. She had difficult childhood growing up with a violent father, a lorry driver - his company is named after his daughter Marine, and a mother, an accountant at Malaysia Airlines,...

19. 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 ...

20. Jacqueline Bisset

Actress | Bullitt

Jacqueline Bisset has been an international film star since the late '60s. She received her first roles mainly because of her stunning beauty, but over time she has become a fine actress respected by fans and critics alike. Bisset has worked with directors John Huston, François Truffaut, George ...

21. Charlize Theron

Producer | Monster

Charlize Theron was born in Benoni, a city in the greater Johannesburg area, in South Africa, the only child of Gerda Theron (née Maritz) and Charles Theron. She was raised on a farm outside the city. Theron is of Afrikaner (Dutch, with some French Huguenot and German) descent, and Afrikaner ...

22. Claudia Cardinale

Actress | C'era una volta il West

Like many other female Italian film stars, Claudia Cardinale's entry into the business was by way of a beauty pageant. She was 17 years old and studying at the Centro Sperimentale in Rome when she entered a beauty contest, which resulted in her getting a succession of small film roles. Her earthy ...

23. Pier Angeli

Actress | Battle of the Bulge

Anna Maria Pierangeli was born June 19, 1932, in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Anna and her twin sister, Marisa Pavan, both had their eyes on becoming film stars, since that was one of the big Italian pastimes. Anna adopted her surname and split it in half, and it was as Pier Angeli that she would ...

24. 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 ...

25. Song Hye-kyo

Actress | Yi dai zong shi

In addition to dominating her own country, Song Hye-Kyo has left a lasting impression on the global scene thanks to her stunning beauty, extraordinary acting abilities, and captivating presence. As a model who transitioned into acting, Song has become one of Asia's most well-known and significant ...

26. Paulina Porizkova

Actress | Thursday

Paulina Porizkova was born on April 9, 1965 in Prostejov, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. She is an actress and director, known for Thursday (1998), Her Alibi (1989) and Arizona Dream (1993). She was previously married to Ric Ocasek.

27. Jean Seberg

Actress | À bout de souffle

Jean Dorothy Seberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa, to substitute teacher Dorothy Arline (Benson) and pharmacist Edward Waldemar Seberg. Her father was of Swedish descent and her mother was of English and German ancestry.

One month before her 18th birthday, Jean landed the title role in Otto ...

28. 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 ...

29. Lisa Ray

Actress | Water

Lisa Ray was finishing high school in Canada with aspirations of majoring in Journalism at University when a celebrated fashion magazine approached her to model for them, and she ended up on the cover. This catapulted her into a state of instant celebrity. Her high-profile career got her noticed by...

30. Jeanne Crain

Actress | Pinky

Jeanne Crain was born in Barstow, California, on May 25, 1925. The daughter of a high school English teacher and his wife, Jeanne was moved to Los Angeles not long after her birth after her father got another teaching position in that city. While in junior high school, Jeanne played the lead in a ...

31. Uma Thurman

Actress | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander ...

C. Dangerous Liaisons

32. Shalom Harlow

Actress | In & Out

Shalom Harlow was born on December 5, 1973 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for In & Out (1997), Vanilla Sky (2001) and The Salton Sea (2002).

33. Lesley-Anne Down

Actress | North and South

Lesley-Anne Down was born on March 17, 1954 and raised in London, England. With the help of her father, she began modeling at age 10, acting in commercials, and winning several beauty contests. By the time she was 15, Down had completed four films and was voted "Britain's Most Beautiful Teenager". ...

34. Faye Dunaway

Actress | Bonnie and Clyde

An icy, elegant blonde with a knack for playing complex and strong-willed female leads, enormously popular actress Faye Dunaway starred in several films which defined what many would come to call Hollywood's "second Golden Age." During her tenure at the top of the box office, she was a more than ...

35. Arlene Dahl

Actress | Journey to the Center of the Earth

Elegance and femininity are fitting descriptions for Arlene Dahl. She is considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced the screen during the postwar period. Audiences were captivated by her breathtaking beauty and the way she used to it to her advantage, progressing from ...

36. Joanna Going

Actress | Kingdom

Joanna Going was born in Washington, D.C. in 1963 and raised in Newport, Rhode Island. She is the oldest of six children and graduated from Rogers High School in 1981. She attended Emerson College in Boston for two years and then went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. A year ...

37. Vanessa Williams

Actress | Ugly Betty

Vanessa Lynne Williams was born on March 18, 1963 in Tarrytown, Greenburgh, New York and raised in Millwood, New Castle, New York to Helen Williams & Milton Williams, both music teachers. Vanessa and her brother grew up in suburban New York in comfortable surroundings. Vanessa sang and danced in ...

38. Carole Landis

Actress | I Wake Up Screaming

Carole Landis was born on New Year's Day in 1919 in Fairchild, Wisconsin, as Frances Lillian Mary Ridste. Her father, a railroad mechanic, was of Norwegian descent and her mother was Polish. Her father walked out, leaving Carole, her mother and an older brother and sister to fend for themselves.

...

39. Jane Birkin

Actress | Evil Under the Sun

Jane Birkin was born on December 14, 1946 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and director, known for Evil Under the Sun (1982), Blow-Up (1966) and Death on the Nile (1978). She was married to John Barry. She died on July 16, 2023 in Paris, France.

40. Jane Fonda

Actress | Klute

Born in New York City to legendary screen star Henry Fonda and Ontario-born New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, Jane Seymour Fonda was destined early to an uncommon and influential life in the limelight. Although she initially showed little inclination to follow her father's trade, she was ...

41. Olivia Hussey

Actress | Romeo and Juliet

At age 15, when most young women are nurturing dreams of romance, Olivia Hussey was giving life to Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968). Her performance in one of the most celebrated roles ever written in the English language won her the Golden Globe and two successive Best Actor ...

42. Naomi Campbell

Actress | Zoolander 2

Naomi Campbell was born on May 22, 1970 in Streatham, London, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Zoolander 2 (2016), I Feel Pretty (2018) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995).

43. Winona Ryder

Actress | Little Women

Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and was named after a nearby town, Winona, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Cynthia (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller. Her father's family is Ukrainian Jewish and ...

44. 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 ...

45. Hunter Tylo

Actress | The Bold and the Beautiful

Born Deborah Jo Hunter in Fort Worth, the native Texan is an accomplished equestrian with a degree in pre-med from Fordham University in New York. She was a top fashion model in the seventies and eighties, and began her acting career in Dallas, Texas doing plays such as "Vanities", "The ...

46. Loretta Young

Actress | The Stranger

Sweet, sweeter, sweetest. No combination of terms better describes the screen persona of lovely Loretta Young. A&E's Biography (1987) has stated that Young "remains a symbol of beauty, serenity, and grace. But behind the glamour and stardom is a woman of substance whose true beauty lies in her ...

47. Jean Shrimpton

Actress | Privilege

Jean Shrimpton was born on November 7, 1942 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Privilege (1967), Double Pisces, Scorpio Rising (1970) and We'll Take Manhattan (2012). She has been married to Michael Cox since January 12, 1979. They have one child.

48. Connie Nielsen

Actress | Gladiator

Connie Nielsen is set to begin production on Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2," where she will star alongside Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, reprising her iconic role of 'Lucilla' from the Academy Award-winning film "Gladiator." She appears in Ava Duvernay's feature, "Origin," based on the book by ...

49. Margaret Lockwood

Actress | The Lady Vanishes

Karachi-born Margaret Lockwood, daughter of a British colonial railway clerk, was educated in London and studied to be an actress at the Italia Conti Drama School. Her first moment on stage came at the age of 12, when she played a fairy in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1928. She had a bit part in ...

50. Lana Turner

Actress | Madame X

Lana Turner had an acting ability that belied the "Sweater Girl" image MGM thrust upon her, and even many of her directors admitted that they knew she was capable of greatness (check out The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)). Unfortunately, her private life sometimes overshadowed her professional ...

51. Linda Darnell

Actress | Fallen Angel

Linda Darnell, one of five children of a postal clerk, grew up fast. At 11, she was modeling clothes, giving her age as 16. At 13, she was appearing on the stage with little theater groups. Her mother encouraged her to audition when Hollywood talent scouts came to Dallas. She went to California and...

52. Michelle Reis

Actress | Do lok tin si

Michelle Reis was born on June 20, 1970 in Macao [now Macao SAR, China]. She is an actress, known for Fallen Angels (1995), Wicked City (1992) and The Legend (1993). She has been married to Julian Hui since November 23, 2008. They have one child.

53. Anna Karina

Actress | Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux

Born in Denmark, she came to Paris at 18. She met Coco Chanel and Pierre Cardin and started as a top model. She met Jean-Luc Godard about a cameo in Breathless (1960), but she had to be naked and she refused to play in the movie. One year later, they wed and she became famous with the "Nouvelle ...

54. Liv Tyler

Actress | Armageddon

Liv Tyler is an actress of international renown and has been a familiar face on our screens for over two decades and counting. She began modelling at the age of fourteen before pursuing a career in acting. After making her film debut in Bruce Beresford's Silent Fall, she was cast by fledgling ...