Poll: Greatest living female actor...

[speedoo]

[Guava Jelly]

1. Natalie Portman

She is amazing in everything she does.

[MrCoffee]

3. I would agree with that.

She was awesome in Beautiful Girls. How many "child actors" could have given that performance?

[WCGreen]

57. That is one of my favorite movies....

[kwassa]

13. I find her underwhelming.

O.K., but nothing special.

[zauberflote]

53. She's beautiful, no doubt

but she hasn't proved anything yet. She's certainly not in the league of today's best. Give her time and we'll see.

[wickerwoman]

59. She needs a new agent.

She has talent to burn (how many 12 or 13 year olds could have done what she did in "Leon"?) but she keeps choosing these made-for-TV scripts that are only turned into feature films because they have Natalie Portman in them.

My guess is there just aren't that many meaty dramatic roles for women under twenty-five. In five more years she'll be getting the parts Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman are getting today.

[dback]

2. Michelle Pfeiffer

An astounding body of work.

[speedoo]

17. Loved her in "The Fabulous Baker Brothers". nt

[Nicole]

4. Meryl Streep

My favorite was her performance in Silkwood.

[MrCoffee]

5. Why do I not like Meryl Streep????

I really don't know. I want to watch movies that she's in, but something about her just rubs me the wrong way. I can't explain it.

[Nicole]

8. I understand

I feel the same about Susan Sarandon. Which I know is probably cause to flame or tombstone me on this forum because she is a great liberal. :rofl:

I love her politics and love watching her speak out. Watching her act, not so much.

[sarge43]

15. I don't like her acting because

it seems so affected and stylized. "Look at me, I'm acting."

[Mike03]

23. What about THE DEER HUNTER?

The only reason I didn't vote for her is because I think she became self conscious after Deer Hunter. So many critics told her she was miraculous, but watch that film, and she IS amazing in it.

She's also great in STILL OF THE NIGHT and THE HOURS, imho.

Michael Cimino spoiled her by telling her how amazing she was.

[tuvor]

24. Maybe because you can't watch her act without thinking...

"A lot of people think she's the best living actor. I should be in awe right now." And I can't focus on the damn movie.

At least that's the way it is for me

[ceile]

6. Emma

But I almost went other-Judi Dench is one of my absolute faves! One classy lady!

[speedoo]

18. Yes, Judi Dench was on my short list ....

Isn't she Dame Judi Dench now?

[BrightKnight]

55. Dame Judi Dench is very fine actress.

She is not young and beautiful but she is always a pleasure to watch. Her roots are in the theater and that gives her an edge over many film actors.

She would definitely be on my list.

[idgiehkt]

7. where are all the bitches?

I like Jennifer Jason Leigh...she plays a twisted sister like no other. Anjelica Huston is good at playing a not so nice girl as well. Juliette Lewis does a mean twist on a psychopath in a couple of movies that I can think of...and so forth.

[speedoo]

9. Anjelica Huston was on my short list.

Definitely worthy of consideration. As for the younger actresses you mentioned, I think their bodies of work are too limited at this point in their careers to be considered "great". I would lean more towards someone like Julianne Moore, for example.

[idgiehkt]

43. maybe Juliette Lewis

But Jennifer Jason Leigh?




Jennifer Jason Leigh

Actress - filmography
(In Production) (2000s) (1990s) (1980s) (1970s)

America (2006) (in production)
Lymelife (2005) (in production) .... Brenda Bartlett
Untitled Noah Baumbach Project (2007) (post-production) .... Pauline


Rag Tale (2005) .... Mary Josephine 'MJ' Morton
Easter Sunday (2005) .... Mother
The Jacket (2005) .... Dr. Beth Lorenson
Childstar (2004) .... Suzanne Burnbaum
Palindromes (2004) .... 'Mark' Aviva
Maquinista, El (2004) .... Stevie
... aka The Machinist (International: English title) (USA)
In the Cut (2003) .... Pauline
"Mission Hill"
- Kevin Loves Weirdie (2002) TV Episode (voice) .... Eunice 'Weirdie' Eulmeyer
Road to Perdition (2002) .... Annie Sullivan
Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002) (voice) .... Bridget
Crossed Over (2002) (TV) .... Karla Faye Tucker
... aka Destins croisés (Canada: French title)
"Frasier"
- The Two Hundredth (2001) TV Episode .... Estelle
The Quickie (2001) .... Lisa
... aka The Quickie (France)
The Anniversary Party (2001) .... Sally Nash
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) (uncredited) .... Female inmate
Skipped Parts (2000) .... Lydia Callahan
... aka The Wonder of Sex (UK)
The King Is Alive (2000) .... Gina
... aka Dogme # 4 - The King Is Alive (Denmark: series title)
... aka Dogme 4
... aka The King Is Alive (Denmark)
"Twitch City"
- The Life of Reilly (2000) TV Episode .... Faith
Beautiful View (2000)


Spawn 3: Ultimate Battle (1999) (V) (voice) .... Lilly
eXistenZ (1999) .... Allegra Geller
... aka eXistenZ (France)
"Superman"
... aka Superman: The Animated Series (USA: informal alternative title)
- Absolute Power (1999) TV Episode (voice) .... Cetea
"Hercules"
... aka Disney's Hercules (USA: complete title)
- Hercules and the Techno Greeks (1998) TV Episode (voice) .... Tempest
- Hercules and the Assassin (1998) TV Episode (voice) .... Tempest
- Hercules and the Prom (1998) TV Episode (voice) .... Tempest
Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998) (TV) .... Teri Small
... aka The Gulf War
"Tracey Takes On..."
- Sports (1998) TV Episode .... Paige Garland
"King of the Hill"
- I Remember Mono (1998) TV Episode (voice) .... Amy
The Love Letter (1998) (TV) .... Elizabeth Whitcomb
A Thousand Acres (1997) .... Caroline Cook
Washington Square (1997) .... Catherine Sloper
"Spawn" (1997) TV Series (voice) .... Lilly
... aka Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) .... Anney Boatwright
Kansas City (1996) .... Blondie O'Hara
Georgia (1995) .... Sadie Flood
... aka Georgia (France)
Dolores Claiborne (1995) .... Selena St. George
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) .... Dorothy Parker
... aka Mrs. Parker and the Round Table
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) .... Amy Archer
... aka Hudsucker - Der große Sprung (Germany)
Short Cuts (1993) .... Lois Kaiser
Single White Female (1992) .... Hedra 'Hedy' Carlson
The Prom (1992) .... Lana
Rush (1991) .... Kristen Cates
Crooked Hearts (1991) .... Marriet Hoffman
Backdraft (1991) .... Jennifer Vaitkus
Buried Alive (1990) (TV) .... Joanna Goodman
Miami Blues (1990) .... Susie Waggoner
Fire Princess (1990)


Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) .... Tralala
... aka Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn (West Germany)
The Big Picture (1989) .... Lydia Johnson
Heart of Midnight (1988) .... Carol Rivers
Sister, Sister (1987) .... Lucy Bonnard
Under Cover (1987) .... Tanille Lareoux
Picnic (1986) (TV) .... Madge Owens
The Men's Club (1986) .... Teensy
The Hitcher (1986) .... Nash
Flesh & Blood (1985) .... Agnes
... aka Señores del acero, Los (Spain)
... aka The Rose and the Sword
Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) .... Candy Webster
Girls of the White Orchid (1983) (TV) .... Carol Heath
... aka Death Ride to Osaka
Easy Money (1983) .... Allison Capuletti
Have You Ever Been Ashamed of Your Parents? (1983) (TV) .... Andrea Fairchild
... aka Just Like Us (USA: video title)
The First Time (1982) (TV) .... Bonnie
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) .... Stacy Hamilton
"Trapper John, M.D."
- The One and Only (1982) TV Episode .... Helen's Daughter
Wrong Is Right (1982) .... Young Girl
... aka The Man with the Deadly Lens
The Best Little Girl in the World (1981) (TV) .... Casey Powell
The Killing of Randy Webster (1981) (TV) .... Amy Wheeler
I Think I'm Having a Baby (1981) (TV) .... Laurie
Eyes of a Stranger (1981) .... Tracy Harris
"The Waltons"
- The Pursuit (1981) TV Episode .... Kathy Seals
Angel City (1980) (TV) .... Kristy Teeter
... aka Field of Tears

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000492/

She's the same age as Jodie Foster, btw.

[speedoo]

46. Sorry!! I was confused when I read your post.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is a great actress with a tremendous body of work. I absolutely brain farted on that.

She has done some amazing work.

She was on my short list as well.

[trof]

10. Sarah Bernhardt?

The daughter and niece of Jewish courtesans, Bernhardt was baptized a Catholic, but was mercilessly attacked by the popular press for her supposedly Jewish features and behavior. She was a staunch defender of Alfred Dreyfus and wrote a letter in support of Emile Zola’s publication of J’Accuse. At the same time she was a revered national figure, patriotically serving France during the Franco-Prussian War and World War I.

Bernhardt had an extraordinary trajectory from her beginnings at the Comédie Française to international stardom. In 1880 she undertook the first of nine American tours, which not only established an enduring relationship with audiences in this country but also with American theatrical pioneers like the Shubert brothers. Her brilliantly orchestrated career included the ownership of theaters and the supervision of each of her productions; it was also the product of her savvy cultivation of her public image. Her prescient deployment of technology extended to the first recording of her famous “golden voice” by Thomas Alva Edison at Menlo Park, New Jersey. Bernhardt was also the first major actress to perform on film, a technological novelty that at the time had little artistic cachet. To spectacular international acclaim, she went on to star in eight movies.

Among the most represented personages of her time, this extremely thin, frizzy-haired belle juive fascinated her contemporaries: she sat for many of the most fashionable artists of her time, was perhaps the most photographed woman in the world, and attached her name to products ranging from hair curlers to liqueurs. As if this were not enough, Bernhardt was herself a sculptor and painter, which simultaneously heightened her fame and made people suspicious of her manifold talents. Bernhardt’s larger-than-life persona and her extraordinary success as actor and entrepreneur established the template for Hollywood icons as we know them. She was an inspiration for such figures as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and the contemporary stand-up comic, Sandra Bernhard, among others.

Oh wait...you said LIVING.
nevermind
;-)

[speedoo]

20. She's right up there with Betty Davis..

among the greatest, alive or dead.:thumbsup:

[Mz Pip]

11. Elizabeth Taylor

She doesn't do movies anymore, but she was awesome in her films. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is her best work, IMHO.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[speedoo]

27. She was phenomenal in that film.

I think her performance in that film was among the best single performances by anyone, ever.:thumbsup:

[kwassa]

12. Helen Mirren, and Glenda Jackson

two of the greatest over time.

Where is Glenda, these days?

[sarge43]

14. Last I heard she was a member of Parliament.

Second that on Mirren. Her work in the Prime Suspect series was amazing.

[speedoo]

26. Two great actresses... thought about them both. nt

[u4ic]

45. Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith

are definitely at the top of my list. :thumbsup:

[nytemare]

16. I say Meryl, but I would add Charlize Theron to the list.

:hi:

[speedoo]

25. Charlize is one of the great young actresses, along with Hilary Swank.

I left her off because her body of work is not there yet, but it will be.

Phenomenal in "Monster".:hi:

[nytemare]

34. Yes, they are both pretty young.

Both are willing to play roles that are real, and that is why I look at them as great actresses. True, they surely do not have the body of work of Meryl Streep, but they have had their "Sophie's Choice" type films, as Streep did that when she was young.

I might have to add Kathy Bates as well, because that woman can act.

[speedoo]

35. Yes, Kathy Bates can certainly act.

Loved her in "Dolores Claiborne". Tremendous body of work.

[hotforteacher]

19. Maggie Smith n/t

[speedoo]

28. Yes!!

Did you see her in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"?

Superb.:thumbsup:

[hotforteacher]

30. Are you kidding?!

That was the FIRST movie that I saw her in--fucking brilliant!

[speedoo]

32. fucking brilliant is right!!

and welcome to DU!!:)

[yellowdogintexas]

40. her Oscar role. She is awesome! nt

[khashka]

51. If you have a chance, Speedoo

Check out Geraldine McEwan's version of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" for London Weekend Television. You won't be dissapointed :)


Khash.

[speedoo]

54. Thanks Khashka.

I found some info on that, but I don't know if it's available on DVD or VHS. I'd like to check it out.

Any ideas?:hi:

[Mike03]

21. Voted for "other"

because I was thinking of a number of other actresses, especially Hillary Swank. Seems to me she has really pushed the limits.

It's very hard to argue with the notion of Meryl Streep as best actress ever because of her performance in SOPHIE'S CHOICE.

[speedoo]

29. Yup, Meryl was incredible in Sophie's Choice. nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

22. Holy fucking shit - no Judi Dench? No Maggie Smith?

Judi Dench is the top.

Maggie Smith is next, and you don't have her on your list.

Carol Burnett, she's not on the list.

Kate Winslet, not on your list.

Jean Simmons, not on your list.

Julie Andrews, not on your list.

Shirley Maclaine, not on your list.


At least the "greatest living male actors" had some of the top actors on the list. This one really, really missed it. You have some good actresses, but you are nowehere near the top with any of them.

[speedoo]

31. Well, we all have our opinions.

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Shirley MacLaine were all actresses I thought about. I actually thought this was a better list than my male list, which I did off the top of my head. I looked at the historical Oscar nominations for the female list.:hi:

[FedUpWithIt All]

33. I really like Cate Blanchett n/t

[speedoo]

36. Me too. Wish she were in more films.

And welcome to DU!!:hi:

[FedUpWithIt All]

38. Thank you, Speedoo...

:hi:

She was very good in Stories of Lost Souls

[speedoo]

60. Thanks, FUWIA :)

Or, "FOOHWYA"...:)

That looks like an interesting film. I like those multiple story movies.

Cate was unforgettable in "Elizabeth".:thumbsup:

[stuartrida]

50. Yes, she is great.

[FedUpWithIt All]

56. Hey stuartrida! You are my first "Welcome to DU" post!

:hi:

Although, with the mad amount i have been posting, it is quite possible you have been here longer.

:7

Cate is not only talented, i think she is incredibly beautiful.

[Glorfindel]

37. What? No Sally Fields, who won TWO Best Actress Oscars?

No Reese Witherspoon, Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, worthy Oscar winners all? But seriously, for the best living actress, please consider my one vote for Olivia de Havilland, who graced every part she ever played, and is still alive. So is her sister, Joan Fontaine, but that's another matter...

[speedoo]

39. All wonderful actresses...

Sissy Spacek was on my short list.:hi:

Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny" was incredible!!

[Broken_Hero]

41. Kathy Bates

hands down...:) Can play all roles, her villian in Misery is legendary! She has an amazing sense of humor/portrayl in almost all of her movies....:) Plus man...why piss of the woman who played Dolores, or Ann Wilkes...yeesh! Beware of sledge hammers, and wells!...:) :hi:

[charlie and algernon]

49. seconded

simply amazing

[Mendocino]

42. Julie Christie

[speedoo]

44. A name from the past!

Has she done anything since "Shampoo"? Honestly, that's the last I've heard of her... wonderful actress.

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[Mendocino]

58. Julie, my first screen crush.

Since Shampoo, most notably in Heaven Can Wait, Afterglow, Hamlet. Has settled into character roles: Troy and one of the Harry Potter films.

[u4ic]

47. I've always liked

Pernilla August's work, though I don't think I'd call her the greatest. Just wanted to put her name out here.

No one's mentioned Liv Ullman?

[speedoo]

52. Yes, I'm surprised no one's mentioned Liv Ullman.

Also, Faye Dunaway.

Pernilla August is an actress I don't believe I have ever seen, but if you think that highly of her, I'll have to check her out!!

[khashka]

48. Maggie Smith....

No contest.

Khash.

[wickerwoman]

61. Alison Janney

She can do anything- not just the West Wing but also American Beauty and dozens of other films where you it hardly even registers that it's her.

And she can do drama, comedy... She needs to be in a lot more things.

On a side note, how did I miss the fact that Katharine Hepburn died? Bummer.

[lavenderdiva]

62. Helen Mirren...

imo- she's been in so many wonderful films, but the most recent one was on HBO, 'Elizabeth II', for which she won a best actress Emmy last night...