100 Greatest Female Acting Performances
Criteria: These female acting perfomances are based on characterization, charisma, intensity, and mainly on how well the actor portrayed the role. The genre of the role has no affect on its placement. Comedy, drama, and action, as well as both leading roles and supporting roles were all given a fair consideration.
Actress - Movie Title (Year)
1. Meryl Streep
Sophie's Choice (1982)
2. Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
3. Katharine Hepburn
The African Queen (1951)
4. Elizabeth Taylor
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
5. Katharine Hepburn
The Lion in Winter (1968)
6. Ingrid Bergman
Gaslight (1944)
7. Kathy Bates
Misery (1990)
8. Vivien Leigh
Gone With the Wind (1939)
9. Julia Roberts
Erin Brocovich (2000)
10. Vivien Leigh
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
11. Katharine Hepburn
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
12. Frances McDormand
Fargo (1996)
13. Norma Shearer
The Divorcee (1929)
14. Olivia De Havilland
To Each His Own (1946)
15. Diane Keaton
Annie Hall (1977)
16. Holly Hunter
The Piano (1993)
17. Sophie Loren
Two Women (1961)
18. Olivia De Havilland
The Heiress (1949)
19. Shirley MacLaine
Terms of Endearment (1983)
20. Ingrid Bergman
Casablanca (1942)
21. Hillary Swank
Boys Don't Cry (2000)
22. Grace Kelly
The Country Girl (1954)
23. Sissy Spacek
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
24. Katharine Hepburn
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
25. Emma Thompson
Howard's End (1992)
26. Jodie Foster
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
27. Elizabeth Taylor
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (1966)
28. Charlize Theron
Monster (2003)
29. Jennifer Jones
The Song Of Bernadette (1943)
30. Joan Fontaine
Suspicion (1941)
31. Jodie Foster
The Accused (1988)
32. Jane Fonda
Coming Home (1978)
33. Katharine Hepburn
On Golden Pond (1981)
34. Audrey Hepburn
Roman Holiday (1953)
35. Faye Dunaway
Network (1976)
36. Lana Turner
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
37. Sally Field
Places in the Heart (1984)
38. Claudette Colbert
It Happened One Night (1934)
39. Bette Davis
Jezebel (1938)
40. Audrey Hepburn
The Nun's Story (1959)
41. Anne Bancroft
The Miracle Worker (1962)
42. Meryl Streep
French Lieutenants Woman (1981)
43. Kathy Bates
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
44. Halle Berry
Monster's Ball (2001)
45. Doris Day
Pillow Talk (1959)
46. Donna Reed
It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
47. Barbara Stanwyck
Double Indemnity (1944)
48. Sally Field
Norma Rae (1979)
49. Audrey Hepburn
Two For the Road (1967)
50. Glenn Close
Fatal Attraction (1987)
51. Joan Crawford
Sudden Fear (1952)
52. Jean Seberg
Breathless (1960)
53. Bette Davis
Dangerous (1935)
54. Joanne Woodward
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
55. Katharine Hepburn
Morning Glory (1933)
56. Donna Reed
From Here To Eternity (1953)
57. Julie Andrews
The Sound Of Music (1965)
58. Louise Rainer
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
59. Anna Magnini
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
60. Shirley Booth
Come Back, Little Sheba( 1952)
61. Ingrid Bergman
Anastasia (1956)
62. Louise Rainer
The Good Earth (1937)
63. Kathy Bates
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
64. Bette Davis
All About Eve (1950)
65. Glenda Jackson
Women in Love (1970)
66. Liza Minnelli
Cabaret (1972)
67. Ingrid Bergman
Notorious (1946)
68. Glenda Jackson
A Touch of Class (1973)
69. Ellen Burstyn
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
70. Bette Davis
Of Human Bondage (1934)
71. Julie Christie
Darling (1960)
72. Catherine Hepburn
Holiday (1938)
73. Nicole Kidman
The Hours (2002)
74. Ingrid Bergman
Spellbound (1945)
75. Barbara Stanwyck
Ball of Fire (1941)
76. Greer Garson
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
77. Joan Crawford
Mildred Pierce (1945)
78. Katherine Hepburn
Adam's Rib (1949)
79. Jane Fonda
Klute (1971)
80. Ava Gardner
The Night Of The Iguana (1964)
81. Faye Dunaway
Mommie Dearest (1981)
82. Susan Sarandon
Dead Man Walking (1995)
83. Susan Hayward
I Want to Live (1958)
84. Elizabeth Taylor
Buttlerfield 8 (1960)
85. Jane Wyman
Johnny Belinda (1948)
86. Bette Davis
Dark Victory (1939)
87. Ingrid Bergman
Autumn Sonata (1978)
88. Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady (2011)
89. Lauren Bacall
Key Largo (1948)
90. Judy Garland
A Star Is Born (1954)
91. Joan Fontaine
Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
92. Sissy Spacek
Carrie (1976)
93. Jessica Lange
Blue Sky (1994)
94. Joan Fontaine
Rebecca (1940)
95. Deborah Kerr
The King and I (1956)
96. Hilary Swank
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
97. Giulietta Masina
La Strada (1954)
98. Helen Mirren
The Queen (2006)
99. Deborah Kerr
From Here to Eternity (1953)
100. Cate Blanchett
Blue Jasmine (2013)
1. Meryl Streep
Sophie's Choice (1982)
2. Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
3. Katharine Hepburn
The African Queen (1951)
4. Elizabeth Taylor
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
5. Katharine Hepburn
The Lion in Winter (1968)
6. Ingrid Bergman
Gaslight (1944)
7. Kathy Bates
Misery (1990)
8. Vivien Leigh
Gone With the Wind (1939)
9. Julia Roberts
Erin Brocovich (2000)
10. Vivien Leigh
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
11. Katharine Hepburn
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
12. Frances McDormand
Fargo (1996)
13. Norma Shearer
The Divorcee (1929)
14. Olivia De Havilland
To Each His Own (1946)
15. Diane Keaton
Annie Hall (1977)
16. Holly Hunter
The Piano (1993)
17. Sophie Loren
Two Women (1961)
18. Olivia De Havilland
The Heiress (1949)
19. Shirley MacLaine
Terms of Endearment (1983)
20. Ingrid Bergman
Casablanca (1942)
21. Hillary Swank
Boys Don't Cry (2000)
22. Grace Kelly
The Country Girl (1954)
23. Sissy Spacek
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
24. Katharine Hepburn
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
25. Emma Thompson
Howard's End (1992)
26. Jodie Foster
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
27. Elizabeth Taylor
Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (1966)
28. Charlize Theron
Monster (2003)
29. Jennifer Jones
The Song Of Bernadette (1943)
30. Joan Fontaine
Suspicion (1941)
31. Jodie Foster
The Accused (1988)
32. Jane Fonda
Coming Home (1978)
33. Katharine Hepburn
On Golden Pond (1981)
34. Audrey Hepburn
Roman Holiday (1953)
35. Faye Dunaway
Network (1976)
36. Lana Turner
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
37. Sally Field
Places in the Heart (1984)
38. Claudette Colbert
It Happened One Night (1934)
39. Bette Davis
Jezebel (1938)
40. Audrey Hepburn
The Nun's Story (1959)
41. Anne Bancroft
The Miracle Worker (1962)
42. Meryl Streep
French Lieutenants Woman (1981)
43. Kathy Bates
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
44. Halle Berry
Monster's Ball (2001)
45. Doris Day
Pillow Talk (1959)
46. Donna Reed
It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
47. Barbara Stanwyck
Double Indemnity (1944)
48. Sally Field
Norma Rae (1979)
49. Audrey Hepburn
Two For the Road (1967)
50. Glenn Close
Fatal Attraction (1987)
51. Joan Crawford
Sudden Fear (1952)
52. Jean Seberg
Breathless (1960)
53. Bette Davis
Dangerous (1935)
54. Joanne Woodward
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
55. Katharine Hepburn
Morning Glory (1933)
56. Donna Reed
From Here To Eternity (1953)
57. Julie Andrews
The Sound Of Music (1965)
58. Louise Rainer
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
59. Anna Magnini
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
60. Shirley Booth
Come Back, Little Sheba( 1952)
61. Ingrid Bergman
Anastasia (1956)
62. Louise Rainer
The Good Earth (1937)
63. Kathy Bates
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
64. Bette Davis
All About Eve (1950)
65. Glenda Jackson
Women in Love (1970)
66. Liza Minnelli
Cabaret (1972)
67. Ingrid Bergman
Notorious (1946)
68. Glenda Jackson
A Touch of Class (1973)
69. Ellen Burstyn
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
70. Bette Davis
Of Human Bondage (1934)
71. Julie Christie
Darling (1960)
72. Catherine Hepburn
Holiday (1938)
73. Nicole Kidman
The Hours (2002)
74. Ingrid Bergman
Spellbound (1945)
75. Barbara Stanwyck
Ball of Fire (1941)
76. Greer Garson
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
77. Joan Crawford
Mildred Pierce (1945)
78. Katherine Hepburn
Adam's Rib (1949)
79. Jane Fonda
Klute (1971)
80. Ava Gardner
The Night Of The Iguana (1964)
81. Faye Dunaway
Mommie Dearest (1981)
82. Susan Sarandon
Dead Man Walking (1995)
83. Susan Hayward
I Want to Live (1958)
84. Elizabeth Taylor
Buttlerfield 8 (1960)
85. Jane Wyman
Johnny Belinda (1948)
86. Bette Davis
Dark Victory (1939)
87. Ingrid Bergman
Autumn Sonata (1978)
88. Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady (2011)
89. Lauren Bacall
Key Largo (1948)
90. Judy Garland
A Star Is Born (1954)
91. Joan Fontaine
Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)
92. Sissy Spacek
Carrie (1976)
93. Jessica Lange
Blue Sky (1994)
94. Joan Fontaine
Rebecca (1940)
95. Deborah Kerr
The King and I (1956)
96. Hilary Swank
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
97. Giulietta Masina
La Strada (1954)
98. Helen Mirren
The Queen (2006)
99. Deborah Kerr
From Here to Eternity (1953)
100. Cate Blanchett
Blue Jasmine (2013)
15 More Worth Mentioning
101. Natalie Portman
Black Swan (2010)
102. Kate Winslet
The Reader (2008)
103. Emily Watson
Breaking the Waves (1996)
104. Reese Witherspoon
Walk the Line (2005)
105. Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side (2009)
106. Amy Adams
American Hustle (2013)
107. Audrey Hepburn
My Fair Lady (1964)
108. Julianne Moore
Still Alice (2014)
109. Kate Winslet
Hamlet (1996)
110. Marion Cotillard
La Vie en Rose (2007)
111. Jennifer Lawrence
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
112. Brie Larson
Room (2015)
113. Judi Dench
Philomena (2013)
114. Viola Davis
The Help (2011)
115. Emma Stone
La La Land (2016)
Black Swan (2010)
102. Kate Winslet
The Reader (2008)
103. Emily Watson
Breaking the Waves (1996)
104. Reese Witherspoon
Walk the Line (2005)
105. Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side (2009)
106. Amy Adams
American Hustle (2013)
107. Audrey Hepburn
My Fair Lady (1964)
108. Julianne Moore
Still Alice (2014)
109. Kate Winslet
Hamlet (1996)
110. Marion Cotillard
La Vie en Rose (2007)
111. Jennifer Lawrence
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
112. Brie Larson
Room (2015)
113. Judi Dench
Philomena (2013)
114. Viola Davis
The Help (2011)
115. Emma Stone
La La Land (2016)
|
Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight |
Sophie's Choice - Movie Trailer
Edited By: Pave, Lew
Last Updated: 2017-10-08Newly added names are in Red