Top Ten 1940s Actresses

The Top Ten
1 Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was reputed for her performances ...read more.
2 Ingrid Bergman
3 Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck, born Ruby Catherine Stevens (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong, realistic screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra. After a short but notable career as a stage actress in the late 1920s, she made 85 films in 38 years in Hollywood, before turning to television.

My Number One actress of all time, never got a Best Actress Oscar, and should have won at least two, for The Lady Eve, and Double Indemnity.

4 Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013) known as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress, best known for her starring roles in classic Hollywood films. Fontaine appeared in over 45 feature films in a career that spanned five decades. She was the sister of actress ...read more.
5 Olivia de Havilland Olivia Mary de Havilland was a British-American actress whose career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in forty-nine feature films, and was one of the leading movie stars during the golden age of Classical Hollywood.
6 Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress. Known for her fierce independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years.
7 Joan Crawford Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur (March 23, c. 1904 – May 10, 1977) was an American film and television actress who began her career as a dancer and stage showgirl. The American Film Institute ranked Crawford 10th on their list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema .
8 Jean Arthur Jean Arthur, born Gladys Georgianna Greene (October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s.
9 Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress whose career of six decades included work in radio, stage, film, and television.
10 Claire Trevor Claire Trevor, born Claire Wemlinger (March 8, 1910 – April 8, 2000) was an American actress. She appeared in over 60 films, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Key Largo, and earning nominations for her roles in The High and the Mighty and Dead End . She also received ...read more.
The Contenders
11 Rosalind Russell
12 Judy Garland Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm (June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American singer, actress, and vaudevillian. The American Film Institute named her 8th greatest female star of classic American cinema. She's also the mother of actress and singer Liza Minnelli.
13 Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress and singer known for her distinctive voice and sultry looks. She was named the 20th greatest female star of Classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute, and received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009, "in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures."

She has a very distinctive, low voice that sounds nice and attractive.

14 Myrna Loy Myrna Loy, born Myrna Adele Williams (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress.
15 Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers, born Virginia Katherine McMath (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for her performances in films and RKO's musical films in which she was partnered with Fred Astaire.
16 Linda Darnell
17 Greer Garson
18 Mary Astor Mary Astor, born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke (May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon (1941). She began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.
19 Jane Wyman
20 Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as a great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the film Laura (1944), and was nominated for an Academy Award ...read more.
21 Joan Bennett
22 Betty Hutton
23 Ann Dvorak Ann Dvorak, born Anna McKim (August 2, 1912 – December 10, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She was the daughter of silent film actress Anna Lehr and actor/director Edwin McKim.
24 Irene Dunne Irene Marie Dunn (December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s . Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and in 1985, she was given Kennedy Center Honors for her services to the arts.
25 Ella Raines
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