Your Three Favorite Actresses of All Time

[MarshaKatz]

Name your three favorite actresses of all time. Here are mine:

 

1. Bette Davis

2. Katharine Hepburn

3. Jean Arthur

[jamesjazzguitar]

Name your three favorite actresses of all time. Here are mine:

 

1. Bette Davis

2. Katharine Hepburn

3. Jean Arthur

 

Mine are Bette Davis,  Olivia de Havilland and Barbara Stanwyck with Jean Arthur #4 and Kate Hepburn #6. 

 

Now 10 years ago Jean was #10 so she keeps moving up and up.    Maybe by next year I'll swap Babs for Jean. 

[Sepiatone]

WHY do these lists always holding us to a limit?  Hard to do in categories where the choices are so many AND deserving.

 

Mine might be:

 

Claudette Colbert;

 

Myrna Loy;

 

Irene Dunne

 

 

Sepiatone

[MarshaKatz]

I know I started this topic, but I do agree with Sepiatone's comment "Why does there have to be a limit in these categories" Bette Davis is my favorite actress so she's always at the top of my list, but I too found it difficult when trimming it down to only three favorites.

 

If I hadn't limited it to 3, I would have also added Rosalind Russell, Myrna Loy, Olivia De Havilland, Barbara Stanwyck, Diane Keaton, Ginger Rogers, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Ann Sothern, Jean Simmons , Ann Sheridan, Judy Garland and Judy Holliday, just to name a few.

[speedracer5]

It's hard for me to rank performers, there are so many that I love.  I try to seek out each and every one of their films that I haven't seen when they air on TCM.  I also will record old favorites I've seen many times but do not own copies. 

 

Here are my top 3:

 

1. Lucille Ball

2. Bette Davis

3. Audrey Hepburn

 

If I were to expand my list...

 

Judy Garland

Marilyn Monroe

Myrna Loy

Barbara Stanwyck

Jean Arthur

Claudette Colbert

Rita Hayworth

Katharine Hepburn

Gene Tierney

Betty Grable

Lauren Bacall

Olivia de Havilland

Alexis Smith

Joan Fontaine

Ingrid Bergman

Ava Gardner

Natalie Wood

Angela Lansbury

Rosalind Russell

Agnes Moorehead

Kim Novak

Eleanor Parker

Judy Holliday

Debbie Reynolds

Sandra Dee

Doris Day

Mary Astor

Anne Baxter

Grace Kelly

Ann Sheridan

[johnm001]

Julie Andrews

Anne Bancroft

Barbara Stanwyck

 

If expanded, I would include:

 

Rosalind Russell

Olivia de Havilland

Eleanor Parker

Susan Hayward

Kathy Bates

Angela Lansbury

Doris Day

Vera Miles

Sophia Loren

 

[faceinthecrowd]

Three really narrows it down. For now, I'll pick these, subject to future revision:

 

Bette Davis

Helen Mirren

Barbara Stanwyck

 

I can't let the number three keep me from listing the brainy and beautiful Diana Rigg, so I'll make her the first alternate. 

[Arsan404]

Only three? Ok.

 

Ingrid Bergman

Myrna Loy

Maggie Smith

[ThePaintedLady]

1. Rita Hayworth
2. Lauren Bacall
3. Clara Bow

Runners-Up: Myrna Loy and Sylvia Sidney

[owlspectre]

Olivia De Havilland

 

Barbara Stanwyck

 

Gene Tierney

[ChristineHoard]

Barbara Stanwyck

Bette Davis

Irene Dunne

[JamesStewartFan95]

1. Audrey Hepburn

2. Ingrid Bergman

3. Grace Kelly

 

[NickAndNora34]

1. Myrna Loy

2. Ida Lupino

3. Vivien Leigh

[sukey_tawdry]

I like the glamour dolls, but i prefer my leading ladies with a bit of an edge.  

 

Bette Davis

 

Ann Sheridan

 

Barbara Stanwyck

 

 

 

my runners up are more "fun" ladies: Myrna Loy and Joan Blondell

[AndyM108]

1. STANWYCK, by a mile. No other actress is even close.

 

 

2. Davis

 

3. Harlow

 

Of course I HAVE to expand it to include

 

4. Crawford

5. Lupino

 

And then these, in no particular order between 6 & 10:

 

Judy Davis

Loy

Hayward

Jeanne Moreau

Ginger

 

And very close:

 

Roz

Lombard

Loretta

Kate

Audrey

 

I didn't include character actresses, since they're in a different category.  But I can't not mention Glenda and Joan, the Queens of the Gumsnapper Set.

 

 

 

.

[Princess of Tap]

1. Bette Davis

 

2. Bette Davis

 

3. Bette Davis

[jamesjazzguitar]

1. Bette Davis

 

2. Bette Davis

 

3. Bette Davis

 

Well Bette Davis is my #1 so I clearly understand your choices here.

 

(Stanwyck and DeHavilland are my #2 and #3 BTW).

 

Looking over everyone choices it appears Davis and Stanwyck are the top 2 with various actresses battling it out for the #3 slot.

[FrankGrimes]

1. Gloria Grahame

2. Joan Bennett

3. Grace Kelly

4. Ingrid Bergman

5. Gene Tierney

6. Linda Darnell

7. Barbara Stanwyck

8. Carole Lombard

9. Ava Gardner

10. Myrna Loy

11. Rita Hayworth

12. Jean Arthur

13. Kim Novak

14. Deborah Kerr

15. Maureen O'Hara

16. Marlene Dietrich

17. Vivien Leigh

18. Madeleine Carroll

19. Marilyn Monroe

20. Claire Trevor

21. Jean Harlow

22. Thelma Ritter

23. Vera Miles

24. Gail Russell

25. Veronica Lake

[Paulll]

1. Natalie Wood

2. Vivien Leigh

3. Judy Garland

4. Lucille Ball

5. Angela Lansbury

6. Ali MacGraw (saw her in Love Letters w/ Ryan O'Neal!!!)

7. Grace Kelly

8. Marilyn Monroe

9. Audrey Hepburn

10. Julie Andrews

11. Raquel Welch

12. Lauren Bacall

13. Donna Reed

14. Elizabeth Taylor

15. Ingrid Bergman

16. Katharine Hepburn

17. Janet Leigh

 

Favorite dancers/singers/actresses: (not included above)

1. Cyd Charisse

2. Rosemary Clooney

3. Vera Ellen

 

*I also have a list for newer actresses, which I'm not going to do right now. On it are Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Olivia Hussey.

[DJBeacon]

Glenn Close

Ingrid Bergman

Bette Davis

 

[VivLeighFan]

Right now they are:

1. Vivien Leigh

2. Greta Garbo

3. Clara Bow (I wish TCM would show more of her movies)

[ladyofshalott]

1. Jean Arthur

2. Olivia de Havilland

3. Myrna Loy

[jamesjazzguitar]

1. Jean Arthur

2. Olivia de Havilland

3. Myrna Loy

 

Great choices!     While my top 3 were Davis, Stanwyck and then DeHavilland,    I have Arthur as #4 and Loy as #9.

[BlueVertigo]

1. Ingrid Bergman - the greatest, most natural actress ever, and probably the most beautiful too. She was always phenomenal in every movie she did but her performances in Gaslight and Notorious still are my favorite acting by anyone. And her scene in Casablanca looking down and into the past as Sam sings 'As Time Goes By' is probably my favorite movie scene pretty much ever.

2. Audrey Hepburn - pure beauty, pure grace, pure hearted, pure talent, pure greatness in everything she did on screen and off. I love her singing too, to the point that I have a hard time wanting to rewatch My Fair Lady because she was overdubbed. C'mon. When I listen to her sing 'Moon River' in Breakfast at Tiffany's, I just melt. That song belongs to her, no one, not even Sinatra, can surpass her version.

3. Cate Blanchett - my favorite actress alive. Even in lesser movies she command my attention, love, respect and awe. She should be swimming in Best Actress Oscars, but her performance in Blue Jasmine is so outstanding, I knew there was no way she'd lose. 

 

also, Grace Kelly, Judy Garland, Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet, Barbara Stanwyck. There's still so much I need to see, so that might change things a bit.

 

[GGGGerald]

In no special order:

• Ginger Rogers
• Marlene Dietrich
• Emma Thompson