Inductees into The Movie Hall of Fame (All Dame Edition)
Yesterday we determined that there should be a Movie Hall of Fame, and we brought you the fellas who would make it in, no questions asked. Now it's time for the women of Hollywood to be recognized!
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep isn't just the greatest actress of her time, she is a shoo-in for the greatest actress of all time. In fact, she might actually be the greatest of her profession, period. No one commands the screen like she does, and with two Oscars (after 16 nods), two Emmys, two SAG awards, and seven Golden Globes (after 25 nominations!) she no doubt has had to employ a small army of carpenters just to build shelving in her house that backs these claims up. There is nothing this woman can't do, and she's still got several decades left to wow us.
In her day she was a pop star and left behind a tragic legacy, but name another actress in history who has been so imitated or who became an icon for an entire sexual movement. I recently watched one of her classic in a theater full of movie geeks who simply went gaga for her comic stylings. Incredibly talented from a young age, Garland never gets old and is a first round Hall of Fame pick if I ever saw one.
Before there was Streep, there was Hepburn. She stands without a doubt as one of the greatest actresses to ever live. Remember my gentleman inductees from yesterday? Well this lady not only acted opposite half of them, but acted circles around them. There was no one better in her day. And while Streep may have more nominations, Hepburn has more Oscars, holding the record at four.
The sexual icon to end all sexual icons. No one on this list exemplifies both the glamour and the tragedy of Hollywood as much as Marilyn does.
While there are better actresses on this list, there is no one quite as graceful. She is quite possibly the most beloved romantic leading lady of all time. Her romances are timeless and define the genre. Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and My Fair Lady destroy the romances released today. And if that weren't enough, she would eventually put acting on the back burner to take care of her family and then later devote her life to charity work. I don't think there's a person on Earth who has a bad word to say about her.
The legend. Sadly, toward the end of her career her fame became shrouded more in the muck of her personal life than it was resplendent in the glory of her accomplishments. A child star from the get-go, Taylor grew up before America's eyes, from the sweet, doe-eyed kid in Lassie Come Home and National Velvet to the very model of the Hollywood starlet. She was a woman widely known as the most beautiful in the world and carried that reputation with her well into her golden years.
Best known for playing unlikable characters and tough old dames, few actresses have had as long, storied, and truly tragic lives as Davis had. Between legal troubles and setbacks both personal and professional, Davis had no shortage of bad press. And yet her talent was so great that she outlasted it all, saving her career every time and going out as a true Hollywood legend.
Without Rita Hayworth, there would be no Marilyn Monroe. Hayworth was the post-war sex-symbol bombshell whose acting matched her beauty. So much of what she did would be later imitated, but never truly duplicated –- and matched only by the likes of Marilyn.
Child star turned teen star turned incredible actress, few are as accomplished and dependable as Jodie Foster. She is a force of nature -- an Academy Award-winning actress, a director as well as a producer -- and one of the few people in the history of Hollywood to truly keep so much of her private life private. Showing intense grace under fire, she has resisted intrusions into her life and managed to stay entirely professional doing it.
Is there any living actress as beloved as Julia Roberts? She is the Jimmy Stewart of actresses; everyone adores her. Few actresses accomplish as much as she has, not only having made some of the best romantic comedies of her day, but going so far as to make films in which she mocks her own fame and deconstructs her own image. A brave and personable actress, she is the model of what modern Hollywood should aspire to be.
