Best Actress Performances (1937 and Beyond)
by idonnowho | created - 13 Jan 2014 | updated - 04 Dec 2017 | Public
1. Lucille La Verne
Actress | A Tale of Two Cities
A legendary stage actress and character player in early films, Lucille La Verne is one of those forgotten legends who seem to fade as the years go on. However, at her prime she was one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation.
Lucille La Verne Mitchum was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on ...
Best Actress of 1937 (for "The Evil Queen" in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs").
2. 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 ...
Best Actress of 1939 (for "Dorothy Gale" in "The Wizard of Oz").
3. Kathryn Beaumont
Actress | Alice in Wonderland
Kathryn Beaumont was just ten years old when she was chosen for the voice of Alice, in Disney's animated version of the classic children's tale, Alice in Wonderland (1951). Walt Disney was so impressed with Kathryn's long curly blonde hair, sparkling eyes and acting ability, that he chose her as ...
Best Actress of 1953 (for "Wendy Moira Angela Darling" in "Peter Pan").
4. Peggy Lee
Actress | Lady and the Tramp
Peggy Lee was Born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, on May 26, 1920. At age four her mother died. Peggy's father, a railroad station agent, remarried but later left home, leaving Peggy's care entrusted to a stepmother who physically abused her. Peggy later memorialized this in the ...
Best Actress of 1955 (for "Darling", "Peg" and "the Siamese Cats" in "Lady and the Tramp").
5. Betty Lou Gerson
Actress | One Hundred and One Dalmatians
Betty Lou Gerson was born on April 20, 1914 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. She was an actress, known for One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Cinderella (1950) and Cats Don't Dance (1997). She was married to Louis Rocco Lauria and Joe Ainley. She died on January 12, 1999 in Los Angeles, ...
Best Actress of 1961 (for "Cruella de Vil" in "101 Dalmatians").
6. Julie Andrews
Actress | The Sound of Music
Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on October 1, 1935, in England. Her mother, Barbara Ward (Morris), and stepfather, both vaudeville performers, discovered her freakish but undeniably lovely four-octave singing voice and immediately got her a singing career. She performed in music halls throughout her...
Best Actress of 1964 (for "Mary Poppins" in "Mary Poppins").
7. Julie Andrews
Actress | The Sound of Music
Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on October 1, 1935, in England. Her mother, Barbara Ward (Morris), and stepfather, both vaudeville performers, discovered her freakish but undeniably lovely four-octave singing voice and immediately got her a singing career. She performed in music halls throughout her...
Best Actress of 1965 (for "Fraulein Maria" in "The Sound of Music").
8. Virginia McKenna
Actress | Born Free
Talented flaxen-blonde British star combined her deep loves for acting and for wildlife throughout most her adult life. Born in London, England on June 7, 1931, her family possessed a sturdy theatrical background. Mother Anne was a jazz pianist, composer and cabaret performer while father Terry, an...
Best Actress of 1966 (for "Joy Adamson" in "Born Free").
9. Samantha Eggar
Actress | The Collector
Samantha Eggar was born on March 5, 1939 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Collector (1965), Hercules (1997) and The Brood (1979). She was previously married to Tom Stern.
Best Actress of 1967 (for "Emma Fairfax" in "Doctor Dolittle").
10. Shani Wallis
Actress | Oliver!
A popular musical name noted on film for one delightfully feisty Cockney lass, Shani Wallis was born in 1933 in Tottenham (North London), England and initially studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship. On stage from age 4 and performing in repertory as a young teen, she became ...
Best Actress of 1968 (for "Nancy" in "Oliver!")
11. Angela Lansbury
Actress | The Manchurian Candidate
Angela Lansbury was born in 1925 into a prominent family of the upper middle class living in the Regent's Park neighborhood of London. Her father was socialist politician Edgar Isaac Lansbury (1887-1935), a member of both the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and the Labour Party. Edgar ...
Best Actress of 1971 (for "Miss Price" in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks").
12. Carole Shelley
Actress | Hercules
Though English-born, Carole Shelley spent almost her entire award-winning career in the theatre in America, becoming one of Broadway's mainstays and a true pioneer of the American theatre.
Shelley was born in London, England, to Deborah (Bloomstein), an opera singer, and Curtis Shelley, a composer. ...
Best Actress of 1973 (for "Lady Kluck" in "Robin Hood").
13. Michelle Stacy
Actress | The Rescuers
Michelle Stacy was a cute, prolific & popular child actress of the 70s who acted in films & TV shows for 6 years. She's perhaps best known as the voice of Penny in the Disney animated feature The Rescuers (1977). She also had memorable small parts in the science fiction pictures Logan's Run (1976) ...
Best Actress of 1977 (for "Penny" in "The Rescuers").
14. Jeanette Nolan
Actress | The Fox and the Hound
Born in 1911, Jeanette Nolan began her acting career in the Pasadena Community Playhouse. While still a student at Los Angeles City College, she made her radio debut in 1932, aged 20, in "Omar Khayyam", the first transcontinental broadcast from station KHJ. Her film debut was probably also her best...
Best Actress of 1981 (for "The Widow Tweed" in "The Fox and the Hound").
15. Natalie Gregory
Actress | Alice in Wonderland
Natalie Gregory was born on October 20, 1975. She is an actress, known for Alice in Wonderland (1985), Oliver & Company (1988) and Magnum, P.I. (1980). She has been married to Marc Mitchell since 1997. They have two children.
Best Actress of 1985 (for "Alice" in "Alice in Wonderland").
16. Janice Karman
Writer | Alvin & the Chipmunks
Janice Karman was born on May 21, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983), The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). She has been married to Ross Bagdasarian Jr. since September 27, 1980. They have two ...
Best Actress of 1987 (for "Brittany Miller", "Jeanette Miller" and "Eleanor Miller" in "The Chipmunk Adventure").
17. Natalie Gregory
Actress | Alice in Wonderland
Natalie Gregory was born on October 20, 1975. She is an actress, known for Alice in Wonderland (1985), Oliver & Company (1988) and Magnum, P.I. (1980). She has been married to Marc Mitchell since 1997. They have two children.
Best Actress of 1988 (for "Jenny Foxworth" in "Oliver & Company").
18. Jodi Benson
Actress | Toy Story 3
Jodi Benson was born on October 10, 1961 in Rockford, Illinois as Jodi Marie Marzorati. She has received worldwide recognition & critical acclaim as the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Tour Guide Barbie in Toy Story 2 (1999), Weebo in Flubber (1997) as well as Thumbelina in Thumbelina ...
Best Actress of 1989 (for "Princess Ariel" in "The Little Mermaid").
19. Angela Lansbury
Actress | The Manchurian Candidate
Angela Lansbury was born in 1925 into a prominent family of the upper middle class living in the Regent's Park neighborhood of London. Her father was socialist politician Edgar Isaac Lansbury (1887-1935), a member of both the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and the Labour Party. Edgar ...
Best Actress of 1991 (for "Mrs. Potts" in "Beauty and the Beast").
20. Lea Salonga
Actress | Mulan
Lea Salonga began her singing career at the age of ten, when she recorded her first album, Small Voice. She also hosted her own musical TV show, "Love, Lea". She starred in "Miss Saigon" and was then offered the role of the singing voice of Jasmine in the Disney film Aladdin (1992). She has ...
Best Actress of 1992 (for "Princess Jasmine" in "Aladdin").
21. Moira Kelly
Actress | One Tree Hill
Born March 6, 1968 in Queens, New York, she is the third of six kids. Her father, Peter, was trained as a concert violinist. Her mother, Anne, is a nurse. Both are Irish immigrants. Moira was raised in Ronkonkoma, NY. She attended Connetquot Senior High School and graduated in the class of 1986. ...
Best Actress of 1994 (for "Nala" in "The Lion King").
22. Christine Cavanaugh
Actress | Dexter's Laboratory
Christine Cavanaugh (birth name: Christine Josephine Sandberg) was an American actress from Layton, Utah. She emerged as a prolific voice actress in the 1990s, voicing roles in many films and television series. She chose to retire from acting in 2001, at the age of 38. Her most famous voice roles ...
Best Actress of 1995 (for "Babe" in "Babe").
23. Glenn Close
Actress | Fatal Attraction
Eight time Academy Award-nominated actress Glenn Close was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Elizabeth Mary H. "Bettine" (Moore) and William Taliaferro Close (William Close), a prominent doctor. Both of her parents were from upper-class families.
Glenn was a noted ...
Best Actress of 1996 (for "Cruella de Vil" in "101 Dalmatians").
24. Lindsay Ridgeway
Actress | Boy Meets World
Lindsay Ridgeway was born on June 22, 1985 in Loma Linda, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Boy Meets World (1993), Cats Don't Dance (1997) and The Wonderful World of Disney (1997).
Best Actress of 1997 (for "Darla Dimple" in "Cats Don't Dance").
25. Suzanne Pleshette
Actress | The Birds
Suzanne Pleshette achieved television immortality in her role as Bob Newhart's wife in the 1970s classic situation comedy, The Bob Newhart Show (1972). For her role as "Emily Hartley," wife of psychologist "Bob Hartley" (played by Bob Newhart), Pleshette was nominated for the Emmy Award twice, in ...
Best Actress of 1998 (for "Zira" in "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride").
26. Joan Cusack
Actress | In & Out
Actress Joan Cusack was born on October 11, 1962 in New York City and is the daughter of Nancy (née Carolan) and Dick Cusack. Her father was an advertising executive, writer and actor, and her mother was a mathematics teacher. Her siblings - Susie Cusack, John Cusack, Ann Cusack and Bill Cusack are...
Best Actress of 1999 (for "Jessie" in "Toy Story 2").
27. Eartha Kitt
Actress | The Emperor's New Groove
An out-of-wedlock child, Eartha Kitt was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina. Kitt's mother was a sharecropper of African-American and Cherokee Native American descent. Her father's identity is unknown. Given away by her mother, she arrived in Harlem at age nine. At 15, she quit high school...
Best Actress of 2000 (for "Yzma" in "The Emperor's New Groove").
28. Cameron Diaz
Actress | Vanilla Sky
Cameron Diaz, an American actress, was born in 1972 in San Diego, the daughter of a Cuban-American father and a German mother. Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, ...
Best Actress of 2001 (for "Princess Fiona" in "Shrek").
29. Zoe Caldwell
Actress | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
As a testament to her remarkable talent, Broadway honored esteemed Australian stage actress Zoe Caldwell four times with Tony Awards: for "Slapstick Tragedy" (1966), for her title role in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1968), for her searing title performance as "Medea" (1982), and as opera diva ...
Best Actress of 2002 (for "The Grand Councilwoman" in "Lilo & Stitch").
30. Ellen DeGeneres
Producer | Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Emmy-winning talk show host Ellen Lee DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana, a New Orleans suburb. She is the daughter of Betty DeGeneres (née Elizabeth Jane Pfeffer), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres, Jr., an insurance agent. Her brother is musician and producer Vance DeGeneres...
Best Actress of 2003 (for "Dory" in "Finding Nemo").
31. Roseanne Barr
Producer | Roseanne
Firebrand Roseanne Barr has long been one of America's funniest and most controversial comedians.
She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Helen (Davis), a cashier and bookkeeper, and Jerome Hershel "Jerry" Barr, a salesman. Her family was Jewish, and had moved to the U.S. from Russia, Lithuania, ...
Best Actress of 2004 (for "Maggie" in "Home on the Range").
32. Cameron Richardson
Actress | Alvin and the Chipmunks
Cameron Richardson is making her move into the industry spotlight. She starred opposite Jason Lee and Jane Lynch in 20th Century-Fox's hit Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) and played a mentally-challenged character in the HBO series 12 Miles of Bad Road (2008), opposite Lily Tomlin and Mary Kay Place.
...
Best Actress of 2007 (for "Claire Wilson" in "Alvin and the Chipmunks").
33. Anika Noni Rose
Actress | The Princess and the Frog
Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose recently finished filming the lead role of the pilot episode Beast Mode (TBS / Macro), which is based on life of legendary boxing trainer Ann Wolfe. Anika is also serving as Co-Executive Producer.
In 2018, Anika starred in the title role of 'Carmen Jones' in John ...
Best Actress of 2009 (for "Princess Tiana" in "The Princess and the Frog").
34. Mandy Moore
Actress | A Walk to Remember
Amanda Leigh Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, on April 10, 1984, to Stacy (Friedman), a former news reporter, and Don Moore, an airline pilot. During her childhood, her family moved to Orlando, Florida, where she was raised. She has Russian Jewish (from her maternal grandfather), English, ...
Best Actress of 2010 (for "Rapunzel" in "Tangled").
35. Jenny Slate
Actress | Obvious Child
Jenny Sarah Slate is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the improvise and comedy scene. She lent voice performances to the animated ...
Best Actress of 2011 (for "Zoe Henderson" in "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked").
36. Keke Palmer
Actress | Nope
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer was born on August 26, 1993 in Harvey, Illinois and raised in Robbins, Illinois to Sharon and Larry Palmer, both former actors. Palmer showed vocal promise as a five-year-old, when she belted out "Jesus Loves Me" in her church choir. A year later the singer-actress had a...
Best Actress of 2012 (for "Peaches" in "Ice Age 4: Continental Drift").
37. Idina Menzel
Soundtrack | Frozen
Idina Menzel was born on May 30, 1971 in New York City, New York as Idina Kim Mentzel. She's an American actress, singer & songwriter. She's best known as Maureen in Rent, Elphaba in Wicked & the voice of Elsa in Frozen (2013). Her mother Helene Goldberg was a therapist & her father Stuart Mentzel ...
Best Actress of 2013 (for "Queen Elsa" in "Frozen").
38. Kaitlyn Dias
Actress | Inside Out
Kaitlyn Dias was born on May 11, 1999 in El Dorado Hills, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Inside Out (2015), A Very Special Episode (2020) and Welcome to Blood Gulch.
Best Actress of 2015 (for "Riley Anderson" in "Inside Out").
39. Ginnifer Goodwin
Actress | Zootopia
Ginnifer Goodwin was born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin on May 22, 1978, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Linda (Kantor), a doctor of educational technology, and Tim Goodwin, a musician and the owner of Memphis Sound Productions recording studio. Ginnifer graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996 and ...
Best Actress of 2016 (for "Judy Hopps" in "Zootopia").
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