Notable Stage and Screen Actresses

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

 

Parker Posey Biographies of Notable Women Actresses Adventurers Artists Athletes Businesswomen Comediennes Congresswomen Educators and Scholars Fashion Designers and Models Literary Figures Media Figures Musicians and Dancers Reformers and Activists Saints and Sinners Scientists Women in U.S. Government World Leaders more categories »

A

• Aaliyah, singer, actress
• Allen, Debbie, actress
• Allen, Gracie, actress
• Allen, Joan, actress
• Alley, Kirstie, actress
• Anderson, Gillian, actress
• Anderson, Pamela, model, actress
• Andrews, Julie (Julia Elizabeth Wells), actress
• Aniston, Jennifer (Jennifer Anistonapoulos), actress
• Ann-Margret (Ann-Margaret Olsson), actress
• Anwar, Gabrielle, actress
• Applegate, Christina, actress
• Arden, Eve (Eunice Quedens), actress
• Arquette, Patricia, actress
• Arquette, Rosanna, actress
• Arthur, Bea, actress
• Ashcroft, Dame Peggy (Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft), actress
• Ashley, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Cole), actress
• Astor, Mary (Lucile Vasconsellos (Vasconcellos?) Langhanke), actress

B

• Bacall, Lauren (Betty Joan Perske), actress
• Baker, Kathy, actress
• Ball, Lucille, actress
• Bancroft, Anne, actress
• Bankhead, Tallulah, actress
• Baranski, Christine, actress
• Bardot, Brigitte, actress
• Barkin, Ellen, actress
• Barrymore, Drew, actress
• Barrymore, Ethel (Ethel Blythe), actress
• Basinger, Kim, actress
• Bassett, Angela, actress
• Bates, Kathy, actress
• Baxter, Anne, actress
• Belafonte-Harper, Shari, model, actress
• Bel Geddes, Barbara, actress
• Bell, Marion, singer, actress
• Bening, Annette, actress
• Bergen, Candice, actress
• Bergman, Ingrid, actress
• Bernhard, Sandra, actress comedian
• Berry, Halle, actress, model
• Binoche, Juliette, actress
• Bisset, Jacqueline, actress
• Black, Shirley Temple, actress
• Blair, Linda, actress
• Bleeth, Yasmine, model, actress
• Bloom, Claire, actress
• Bonham Carter, Helena, actress
• Bow, Clara, actress
• Brandy (Brandy Norwood), actress, singer
• Bullock, Sandra, actress
• Bujold, Genevieve, actress
• Burke, Bille (Mary William Ethelbert Appleton), actress
• Burnett, Carol, comedienne, actress
• Burstyn, Ellen (Edna Rae Gillooly), actress
• Butler, Brett, actress, comedienne

C

• Caldwell, Zoe, actress
• Campbell, Louise, actress
• Campbell, Neve, actress
• Campion, Jane, director, screenwriter
• Cannon, Dyan (Samille Diane Friesen), actress
• Caron, Leslie, dancer, actress
• Carrere, Tia (Althea Janairo), actress
• Carroll, Diahann (Carol Diahann Johnson), singer, actress
• Carson, Violet, actress
• Caselotti, Adriana, voice actress
• Cassidy, Joanna (Joanna Virginia Caskey), actress
• Cates, Phoebe (Phoebe Katz), actress
• Channing, Carol, comedienne, singer
• Channing, Stockard (Susan Stockard), actress
• Charisse, Cyd (Tula Ellice Finklea), dancer, actress
• Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere), actress, pop star
• Christensen, Helena, model, actress
• Christie, Julie, actress
• Clarke, Shirley (Shirley Brimberg), filmmaker
• Clayburgh, Jill, actress
• Close, Glenn, actress
• Coca, Imogene, actress, comedienne
• Collins, Joan, actress
• Connelly, Jennifer, actress
• Cox-Arquette, Courteney, actress
• Cox, Nikki, actress
• Crawford, Joan (Lucille Fay Le Sueur), actress
• Crouse, Lindsay, actress
• Curtin, Jane, comedienne, actress
• Curtis, Jamie Lee, actress
• Cusack, Joan, comic actress

D

• Danes, Claire, actress
• Danner, Blythe, actress
• Davies, Marion (Marion Cecelia Douras), actress
• Davis, Bette (Ruth Elizabeth Davis), actress
• Davis, Geena (Virginia Davis), actress
• Davis, Judy, actress
• Day, Doris (Doris Kappelhoff), singer, actress
• De Carlo, Yvonne , actress
• Dee, Ruby (Ruby Ann Wallace), actress
• Dee, Sandra (Alexandria Zuck), actress
• DeGeneres, Ellen, comedienne, actress
• De Havilland, Olivia, actress
• Del Rio, Dolores (Lolita Dolores Martinez Asunsolo Lopez Negrette), actress
• De Mornay, Rebecca (Rebecca George), actress
• Dench, Dame Judi, actress
• Deneuve, Catherine (Catherine Dorléac), actress
• Dern, Laura, actress
• Dewhurst, Colleen, actress
• Diaz, Cameron, actress, model
• Dickinson, Angie (Angeline Brown), actress
• Doherty, Shannen, actress
• Down, Lesley-Anne, actress
• Driver, Minnie, actress
• Dru, Joanne (Joanne LaCock), actress
• Dukakis, Olympia, actress
• Duke, Patty (Anna Marie Duke), actress
• Dunaway, Faye (Dorothy Faye), actress
• Duncan, Sandy, actress
• Duvall, Shelley, actress

E

• Eggert, Nicole, actress
• Electra, Carmen (Tara Patrick), model, actress
• Eleniak, Erika, actress
• Elfman, Jenna (Jennifer Mary Butala), actress
• Ephron, Nora, screenwriter, director, actress
• Evans, Dale, actress
• Everhart, Angie, model, actress

F

• Fabray, Nanette (Ruby Nanette Fabares), actress, singer
• Farrow, Mia (Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow), actress
• Fawcett, Farrah (Mary Farrah Fawcett), actress
• Field, Sally (Sally Mahoney), actress
• Fiorentino, Linda (Clorinda Fiorentino), actress
• Fisher, Carrie, actress
• Flockhart, Calista, actress
• Fonda, Bridget, actress
• Fonda, Jane, actress
• Foster, Frances, actress
• Foster, Jodie (Alicia Christian Foster), actress, director, producer
• Francis, Arlene, actress
• Francis, Connie (Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero), singer, actress
• Funicello, Annette, actress

G

• Gardner, Ava, actress
• Garland, Judy (Frances Gumm), actress, singer
• Garofalo, Janeane, actress, comedian
• Garson, Greer (Eileen Evelyn Garson), actress
• Garth, Jennie, actress
• Gaynor, Mitzi (Francesca Mitzi Gerber), actress, dancer
• Geller, Sarah Michelle, actress
• Getty, Estelle, actress
• Ghostley, Alice, actress
• Goddard, Paulette (Marion Goddard Levy), actress, philanthropist
• Goldberg, Whoopi (Caryn Johnson), comedienne, actress
• Gorris, Marleen, director, screenwriter
• Grable, Betty, actress
• Grier, Pam, actress
• Griffith, Melanie, actress
• Gurney, Rachel, actress

H

• Hamilton, Lisa Gay, actress
• Hannah, Daryl, actress
• Harlow, Jean (Harlean Carpenter), actress
• Harris, Julie, actress
• Hart, Melissa Joan, actress
• Hart, Carlisle Hart, singer and actress
• Hatcher, Teri, actress
• Hawn, Goldie, actress
• Hayek, Salma, actress
• Hayes, Helen, actress
• Hayworth, Rita (Margarita Carmen Cansino), actress
• Heche, Anne, actress
• Hedren, Tippi (Nathalie Hedren), actress
• Hellman, Lillian, playwright
• Hemingway, Margaux (Margot Hemingway), actress, model
• Hemingway, Mariel, actress
• Henderson, Florence, actress, singer
• Henkin, Hilary, screenwriter
• Hepburn, Audrey, actress
• Hepburn, Katharine, actress
• Hershey, Barbara (Barbara Seagull Hershey), actress
• Hewitt, Jennifer Love, actress, singer
• Hilliard, Harriet (Peggy Lou Snyder), actress
• Holly, Lauren, actress
• Holmes, Katie, actress
• Horne, Lena, jazz and pop singer, dancer, and actress
• Houston, Whitney, pop singer, actress
• Hunt, Helen actress
• Hunt, Linda, actress
• Hunter, Holly, actress
• Hurley, Elizabeth, actress, model
• Huston, Anjelica, actress
• Hutton, Betty, actress

I

• Ireland, Jill, actress, producer, writer
• Irving, Amy, actress

J

• Jepson, Helen, actress, singer
• Jolie, Angelina, actress
• Jones, Shirley, actress, signer
• Jovovich, Milla, actress, model, singer, songwriter
• Judd, Ashley, actress

K

• Keaton, Diane (Diane Hall), actress, director
• Keener, Catherine, actress
• Kellerman, Sally, actress
• Kelly, Grace, actress, Princess of Monaco
• Kennedy, Kathleen, producer
• Kidder, Margot (Margaret Kidder), actress
• Kidman, Nicole, actress
• Kingsley, Dorothy, screenwriter
• Kinski, Nastassja (Nastassja Aglaia Nakszynski), actress
• Kitt, Eartha, singer, dancer, and actress
• Kudrow, Lisa, actress
• Kurtz, Swoosie, actress

L

• Ladd, Diane, actress
• Lahti, Christine, actress
• Lake, Veronica (Constance Frances Marie Ockelman), actress
• Lamarr, Hedy (Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), actress
• Lamour, Dorothy, actress
• Lange, Jessica, actress
• Lansbury, Angela, actress
• Laurie, Piper (Rosetta Jacobs), actress
• Lawless, Lucy (Lucy Ryan), actress
• Leachman, Cloris, actress
• Leigh, Janet (Jeanette Helen Morrison), actress
• Leigh, Jennifer Jason, actress
• Leigh, Vivien (Vivian Mary Hartley), actress
• Leoni, Téa, actress
• Lewis, Juliette, actress
• Littlefeather, Sacheen, actress
• Locke, Sondra, actress, director
• Locklear, Heather, actress
• Lollobrigida, Gina (Luigina Lollobrigida, as fashion model used the name Diane Loris), model, actress
• Lombard, Carole (Jane Alice Peters), actress
• Long, Shelley, actress
• Lopez, Jennifer, actress
• Loren, Sophia, actress
• Louis-Dreyfus, Julia, actress
• Louise, Tina (Tina Blacker), actress
• Love, Courtney, pop-punk singer, actress
• Loy, Myrna (Myrna Williams), actress
• Lucci, Susan, actress

M

• MacDowell, Andie (Rosalie Anderson MacDowell), actress/model
• MacGraw, Ali (Alice MacGraw), actress
• MacLaine, Shirley, actress
• Macpherson, Elle (Eleanor Gow), model, actress
• Madigan, Amy, actress
• Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone), singer, songwriter, actress, record producer
• Magnuson, Ann, actress
• Manheim, Camryn, actress
• Mansfield, Jayne, actress
• Manzano, Sonia, actress
• Marceau, Sophie (Sophie Maupu), actress
• Margulies, Julianna, actress
• Marks, Shae, actress
• Marshall, Penny (Carole Penelope Masciarelli), director, actress
• Masina, Giuletta, actress
• Mason, Marsha, actress
• Masterson, Mary Stuart, actress, writer, director
• Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth, actress
• McCarthy, Jenny, personality, actress, model
• McClanahan, Rue, actress
• McCormack, Catherine, actress
• McDaniel, Hattie, singer and actress
• McDormand, Frances, actress
• McFadden, Gates (Jesse Stuart Gates, Cheryl McFadden, Cheryl Gates McFadden), actress, dancer, choreographer
• McGillis, Kelly, actress
• McGovern, Elizabeth, actress
• McGuire, Dorothy, actress
• McNichol, Kristy, actress
• McQueen, Butterfly (Thelma McQueen), actress
• McTeer, Janet, actress
• Merman, Ethel (Ethel Zimmerman), actress, singer
• Midler, Bette, singer, actress
• Milano, Alyssa, actress
• Miller, Penelope Ann, actress
• Mills, Juliet, actress
• Minnelli, Liza, actress
• Miranda, Carmen, actress
• Miró Romero, Pilar, director
• Mirren, Helen (Ilynea Lydia Mironoff), actress
• Monroe, Marilyn (Norma Jeane Mortenson or Baker), actress
• Moore, Demi (Demetria Guynes), actress
• Moore, Julianne (Julie Smith), actress
• Moore, Mary Tyler, actress
• Moore, Melba, singer, actress
• Moorehead, Agnes, actress
• Moreno, Rita (Rosita Dolores Alverio), actress, dancer, singer
• Mulgrew, Kate, actress

N

• Neal, Patricia, actress
• Nair, Mira, director, screenwriter
• Negri, Pola (Barbara Appolonia Chalupiec), actress
• Novak, Kim (Marilyn Pauline Novak), actress

O

• Oberon, Merle (Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson), actress
• O'Donnell, Rosie , actress, comedian
• O'Hara, Maureen (Maureen FitzSimons), actress
• Olin, Lena, actress
• Olsen, Ashley and Mary-Kate , twin child stars
• O'Neal, Tatum, actress
• Ormond, Julia, actress

P

• Page, Geraldine, actress
• Paltrow, Gwyneth, actress
• Papas, Irene (Irene Lelekou), actress
• Parker, Sarah Jessica, actress
• Perez, Rosie , actress, dancer, choreographer
• Perkins, Elizabeth, actress
• Perlman, Rhea, actress
• Peters, Bernadette (Bernadette Lazzara), actress
• Petty, Lori, actress
• Pfeiffer, Michelle, actress
• Phillips, Miriam, actress
• Pickford, Mary (Gladys Mary Smith), actress
• Pinkett Smith, Jada , actress, video director, clothing designer
• Plimpton, Martha, actress
• Plowright, Joan, actress
• Plummer, Amanda, actress
• Portman, Natalie, actress
• Posey, Parker (Parker Christian Posey), actress
• Potts, Annie, actress

Q

• Quinlan, Kathleen, actress
• Questel, Mae, voice of cartoon characters

R

• Radner, Gilda, comedienne
• Redgrave, Lynn, actress
• Redgrave, Vanessa, actress
• Richardson, Joely, actress
• Remick, Lee, actress
• Reuben, Gloria, actress
• Reynolds, Debbie (Mary Frances Reynolds), singer, dancer, actress
• Reynolds, Marjorie (Marjorie Goodspeed), actress
• Ricci, Christina, actress
• Richards, Ariana, actress
• Richardson, Miranda, actress
• Richardson, Natasha, actress
• Ringwald, Molly, actress
• Roberts, Julia, actress
• Robinson Peete, Holly (Holly Robinson), actress
• Rogers, Ginger (Virginia McMath), actress, dancer
• Rogers, Mimi, actress
• Roseanne (Roseanne Barr), actress
• Ross, Katharine, actress
• Rowlands, Gena (Virginia Rowlands), actress
• Ruehl, Mercedes, actress
• Russell, Jane (Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell), actress
• Russell, Keri, actress
• Russo, Rene, actress
• Rutherford, Dame Margaret, actress
• Ryan, Jeri (Jeri Lynn Zimmerman), actress
• Ryan, Meg (Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra), actress
• Ryder, Winona (Winona Laura Horowitz), actress

S

• Saint, Eva Marie, actress
• San Giacomo, Laura, actress
• Sara, Mia (Mia Sarapocciello), actress
• Sarandon, Susan (Susan Abigail Tomalin), actress
• Scacchi, Greta, actress
• Scorsese, Catherine, actress
• Scott Thomas, Kristen, actress
• Sevigny, Chlöe, actress
• Seymour, Jane (Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg), actress
• Shaver, Helen, actress
• Shearer, Norma (Edith Norma Shearer), actress
• Sheedy, Ally (Alexandra Sheedy), actress, writer
• Shepherd, Cybill, actress
• Shields, Brooke, actress, model
• Shire, Talia (Talia Coppola), actress
• Shue, Elisabeth, actress
• Signoret, Simone (Simone Kaminker), actress
• Silverstone, Alicia, actress
• Sirtis, Marina, actress
• Somers, Brett, actress
• Sorvino, Mira, actress
• Spacek, Sissy (Mary Elizabeth Spacek), actress
• Spelling, Tori (Victoria Spelling), actress
• Stanley, Kim, actress
• Steenburgen, Mary, actress
• Stone, Sharon, actress; model
• Streep, Meryl (Mary Louise Streep), actress
• Stringfield, Sherry, actress
• Stuart, Gloria, actress
• Suvari, Mena, actress
• Swank, Hilary, actress

T

• Tandy, Jessica, actress
• Taylor, Elizabeth, actress
• Taylor, Lili, actress
• Tennant, Victoria, actress
• Theron, Charlize, actress
• Thiessen, Tiffani-Amber, actress
• Thomas, Marlo, actress
• Thompson, Emma, actress, screenwriter
• Thompson, Lea, actress
• Thorne-Smith, Courtney, actress
• Thurman, Uma, actress
• Tilly, Jennifer, actress
• Tilly, Meg (Margaret Tilly), actress
• Tomei, Marisa, actress
• Tomita, Tamlyn, actress
• Turner, Kathleen (Mary Kathleen Turner), actress
• Turner, Lana (Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner), actress
• Tyler, Liv (Liv Rundgren), actress; model
• Tyson, Cicely, actress

U

• Ullman, Tracey, comedian; actress; singer
• Ullmann, Liv, actress

W

• Ward, Rachel, actress
• Wasserstein, Wendy, playwright
• Watson, Emily, actress
• Weaver, Sigourney (Susan Weaver), actress
• Welch, Raquel (Raquel Tejada), actress
• West, Mae, actress
• Wiest, Dianne, actress
• Williams, Michelle, actress
• Williams, Vanessa, actress, singer
• Winger, Debra (Mary Debra Winger), actress
• Winningham, Mare, actress, singer
• Winslet, Kate, actress
• Winters, Shelley (Shirley Schrift), actress
• Witherspoon, Reese (Laura Jean Reese Witherspoon), actress
• Wood, Natalie (Natasha Nikolaevna Gurdin), actress
• Woodard, Alfre, actress
• Woodward, Joanne, actress
• Wright Penn, Robin (Robin Wright), actress
• Wyman, Jane, actress, producer

Y

• York, Susannah, actress
• Young, Loretta (Gretchen Young), actress

Z

• Zellweger, Renee, actress
• Zeta-Jones, Catherine, actress

• More from Women's History Month