Timelessly Beautiful Women – They’ve Always Stood Out Throughout History

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor is another timeless beauty who has been in the limelight since she was a teenager in the early 1940s. Her striking beauty drew the attention of many, and as a teenager, her mother was frequently encouraged to take her daughter to film auditions. Her eyes were particularly striking, as they were cobalt blue rimmed with two layers of eyelashes as a result of a rare genetic mutation. She soon blossomed into one of the most successful and well-known Hollywood actresses whose private life was under continuous scrutiny, particularly as she married eight times. She starred in many hit Hollywood films, and later dedicated her life to philanthropy, becoming an advocate for Jewish causes as well as raising awareness for AIDS.

Elizabeth Taylor

Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Pfeiffer was one of the most well-known actresses during the 1980s and 90s. She was not only beautiful but also a fantastic actress. A Daily Telegraph contributor said Pfeiffer had the kind of beauty “you find yourself involuntarily taking a moment to marvel at mid-conversation.” At the start of her career, she was often typecast into roles as the pretty girl, but by the late 70s she had broken the mold with her supporting role in Scarface, a role which would give way to many other opportunities in the industry.

Michelle Pfeiffer

Julie Gibson

Julie Gibson is just astounding! Born Gladys Camille Sorey in 1913, she lived until she was 105, passing only in 2019. Despite the fact that she was one of the older celebrities from what is known as the Golden Era of Hollywood, she outlived most of her fellows, and she was the last celebrity to die who worked with The Three Stooges. It is crazy to think that she broke into the film industry over eighty years ago, reaching the height of her career in the 1940s already establishing herself then as a legend.

Julie Gibson

Charlize Theron

Raised on a farm in South Africa, Charlize Theron was just 15 years old when her mother killed her alcoholic father in the name of self-defense after he threatened to kill both mother and daughter. She originally went to New York for a three-day modeling stint and stayed to train as a ballet dancer until an injury forced her to quit. She soon caught the eye of talent-agents and started with some small acting roles, and was soon being offered lots of “hot-chick” parts but turned them down. Even though a lot of people advised her to take the gigs so as ‘to hit while the irons hot’, she was thinking of the long-term. In an interview, she said that “playing the same part over and over doesn’t leave you with any longevity. And I knew it was going to be harder for me, because of what I look like, to branch out to different kinds of roles.”

Charlize Theron

Rita Hayworth

Rita Heyworth is one of those stars who has been in the entertainment industry for practically her entire life. Born Margarita Carmen Cansino, she was dancing until she was 10 years old, when her family relocated to California where she went on to appear in many dancing films during the 1930s until she branched out into more serious roles during the 1940s, eventually coined “The Love Goddess” and is described as the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. Over the next decade, she had many personal issues, wrestling with a number of mentally abusive marriages, spiraling into alcoholism and financial difficulties. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for a long time which contributed to her death in 1987.

Rita Hayworth

Ursula Andress

Ursula Andress shot to fame with her role as the first Bond Girl opposite the late Sean Connery in Dr. No, even though it isn’t actually her voice you hear in the film as they dubbed over her Swiss-German accent. She also appeared in Playboy magazine a number of times, and when asked why she wanted to have naked photos of herself published she replied: “Because I’m beautiful”. Well, at least she knew where she stood!

Ursula Andress

Catherine Deneuve

French actress Catherine Deneuve made her international breakthrough in a most unexpected film, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, unexpected because the dialogue in the film was entirely sung, similar to opera. Following that, Deneuve starred in Roman Polanski’s film Repulsion, making her even more popular. After that, she accumulated an impressive acting resume, and in 1985 she got the honor of becoming the official face of Marianne, the French personification of Liberty. Recently, Deneuve made controversial headlines when she signed an open letter against the #MeToo movement, which she considered a witch-hunt and positioning women as helpless and as the eternal victim.

Catherine Deneuve

Ann-Margret Olsson

Swedish-American celebrity Ann-Margret Olsson was one of the most famous stars of the 1960s and 70s. Actress, singer, and dancer, she got her first big acting break in Bye Bye Birdie, while she was working as a recording artist. Her career spans over five decades, over which time she has been nominated for, and won, countless awards with her most recent in 2010 when she won an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on Law and Order: SVU.

Ann-Margret

Vivien Leigh

Like a lot of other women on this list, Vivien Leigh has also said of herself that she had to work hard for people to see past her outer beauty and to get people to believe in her as an actress in her own right, one director even described her as “consummate actress, hampered by beauty”. She earned critical acclaim and much popularity with roles in films like A Streetcar Named Desire and Gone with the Wind, but actually had a much higher profile career on stage rather than on screen. She died of tuberculosis in 1967.

Vivien Leigh

Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner was originally from South Carolina and had a southern accent which apparently MGM studios originally considered incomprehensible! But that didn’t deter her from achieving her goals. She persevered until they signed her, and after five years of doing minor roles, she finally got her big break with the noir film The Killers. This was the beginning of 50 years of stardom for Gardner. Her heavy smoking habit eventually caught up with her in the 1980s, and in 1986 she suffered from emphysema and a stroke that left her paralyzed, and in 1990 she contracted pneumonia which led to her death.

Ava Gardner

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr is another example of a beautiful woman who is truly fascinating for reasons way beyond her outer beauty! During WWII she started working on “frequency hopping”, a technique used to stop radio signal jamming that sabotaged the ability of submarines to control torpedoes. After she got in patented it was actually unused for a while, but it eventually was very useful in contributing to the invention of various military and civilian devices using similar technology. Lamarr was also the iconic actress who depicted the first woman having an orgasm on the big screen in the Czech film, Ecstasy, in 1933.

Hedy Lamarr

Ingrid Bergman

Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman had been acting in the German and Swedish film industry since the 1930s, but when she took the central role opposite Humphrey Bogart in the classic film Casablanca, she received international critical acclaim. Her astounding international appeal was so wide one biographer described her as “arguably the most international star in the history of entertainment.” A director she worked with, Anatole Litvak, said of her character that “through all her troubles she held to the conviction that she had been true to herself and it made her quite a person.” Sadly she died in 1982 of breast cancer.

Ingrid Bergman

Sophie Marceau

Beautiful French actress Sophie Marceau is often top of these lists, even though she herself didn’t seem to think of herself as attractive, saying “I’ve never really been beautiful. I’m photogenic…” Either way, she was the focus of public attention since appearing on screens as a teenager with the 1980 film La Boum, and then starred in numerous European films over the next decade and a half. Soon she also joined Hollywood to star in Braveheart opposite Mel Gibson, and the James Bond film The World is not Enough.

Sophie Marceau

Isabella Rossellini

It is pretty cool that Isabella Rossellini is actually the daughter of another beautiful woman on our list! Daughter of Ingrid Bergman and filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, Isabella started out as a model despite starting her career later than the average model and became the spokesmodel of Lancôme, a position she held for an impressive 14 years. After becoming a successful model she went into acting, doing both TV and film work, with one of her biggest roles in the David Lynch film, Blue Velvet. Rossellini is another example of a beautiful woman who is so much more than just outer beauty; she is a passionate activist with an interest in environmental conservation.

Isabella Rossellini

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachnan is a stalwart of these lists since she won the title of Miss World 1994. She began modeling while in college and later began starring in Bollywood movies where her performances were characterized by a “delicately sensual presence and physical grace”. Despite having to constantly deal with media attention she has successfully managed to keep her personal life under wraps. This is an incredible feat, considering her almost godlike status in India.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Elizabeth Hurley

Although she had done some acting before, Elizabeth Hurley actually first got exposed to public attention as Hugh Grant’s girlfriend, who was getting a lot of attention after the success of his 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral. At the premiere of the film, she wore a plunging black dress made by Versace held together by gold safety pins. A year later she was introduced as Estée Lauder’s spokesmodel, beginning her modeling career at 29. She also went into acting with her most famous performance in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, earning herself an award for Best Supporting actress.

Elizabeth Hurley

Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall was named the 20th greatest female actress of the classic Hollywood era, and later honored with an Honorary Academy Award as “recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures.” This late-stage award was a retroactive honoring of the fantastic and striking actress, one she certainly deserved. Starting out as a model, with her beauty being described as “cat-like grace, tawny blonde hair, and blue-green eyes”.

Lauren Bacall

Kim Basinger

Kim Basinger started out as a successful model in the 1970s, until she moved to LA and began her acting career with her debut film Hard Country, as well as playing the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again. She is still acting today, and we think she is just fabulous. With her ice-blue eyes, longe, platinum-blonde hair, and naturally full lips, few humans alive or dead could hope to have matched her queenly grace and beauty.

Kim Basinger

Barbara Parkins

Canadian Barbara Parkins moved to Los Angeles when she was just 16 years old in an attempt to make it in show business. She began working for some major stars as a backup dancer and singer in different nightclubs until she landed her debut role in 1961 in a low-budget crime film called 20,000 Eyes. She is best known for starring alongside Sharon Tate in Roman Polanski’s The Valley of the Dolls, as well as for her work as Betty Anderson in Peyton Place, for which she also received a Grammy nomination.

Barbara Parkins

Julie Ege

Julie Ege is a Norwegian beauty who began working as a model when she was just 15 years old, and in 1962 came second when she competed in the Miss Norway pageant when she was 18 years old. Subsequently, Ege participated in the Miss Universe competition, after which she moved to England to work as an au pair while improving her English skills. She appeared in many British films during the 1960s and 70s, with her most popular role in the comedy Pompeii in 1971. She moved back to Oslo sometime in the early 1990s when she studied to become a nurse. She died of breast cancer in 2008.

Julie Ege

Sophia Loren

Sophie Loren is a ubiquitous name today – everyone knows it. The Italian actress and singer is one of the last surviving actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood, starting her career when she was just 15, and is still acting today. Winning an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1962 for her performance in Two Women, made her the first actress to win for performance, not in English. Since then, she has been nominated, and won, countless awards for her numerous acting credits. One of the things we love about Ms. Loren is that she has always proudly displayed her unshaven armpits, showing that she doesn’t have to conform to everyone else’s standards of beauty. Although it probably helps – looking as beautiful as she does.

Sophia Loren

Jane Birkin

Jane Birkin is an English actress, singer, songwriter, and model, who is particularly famous in French and British cinema. A native Londoner, she was acting during the swinging 60s when she met Serge Gainsbourg on set. Birkin’s fame skyrocketed while the two developed a close working and personal relationship which went on for years, but she continued being successful after they called it quits. She was also the inspiration for the Hermes bag which was named after her.

Jane Birkin

Britt Ekland

Another Bond girl on our list, Swedish actress and singer Britt Ekland worked on numerous film projects during the 60s and 70s, and became even more famous as a result of her romance with actor Peter Sellers in 1964. This was not a happy relationship with the iconic ‘funny man,’ as he was a notoriously difficult partner to humor and endure. It is thought that Ekland was one of the most photographed and famous celebrities in the world during the 1970s.

Britt Ekland

Loretta Young

Born Gretchen, Loretta Young started appearing on screens when she was just 4 years old. She acted in numerous movies and television work and received countless awards for her work. Her show The Loretta Young Show, which earned her three Emmy awards, was originally broadcast between 1953 and 1961, making it the longest-running primetime network program that was hosted by a woman until then. When she retired from show business she dedicated her life to philanthropy and charity causes.

Loretta Young

Jacqueline Bisset

English actress Jacqueline Bisset appeared in numerous films since the 1960s. She appeared in a number of Hollywood Blockbusters such as Bullitt and Day and Night and really made her mark in many people’s memories with her iconic wet t-shirt scene in the 1977 film The Deep. With her curvaceous body and beautiful but distant eyes, Bisett had the kind of tragic beauty that made men desperate to please her.

Jacqueline Bisset

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly is a well-known icon even though she was actually only in the industry for around five years before she married the Prince of Monaco, Prince Rainier III. Her elegance and beauty, as well as her outstanding acting and dancing skills, made her one of the biggest Hollywood stars of all time. Once she became a princess she retired from acting and devoted herself to philanthropy and promotion of the arts. Tragically she died when she got a stroke while driving which resulted in an awful car crash. Luckily, her daughter, who was with her in the car, survived.

Grace Kelly

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn is known as the epitome of sophistication with her elegant beauty and style. It was her role opposite Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday that really propelled her into the spotlight as well as earning her a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award! After she had many other major roles in classic films such as in My Fair Lady and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn retired from acting and focused on humanitarian and philanthropic work for which she was also awarded honors. You just have to look at how well-known Audrey Hepburn still is today to know how influential she was in the industry and on pop-culture in general. Sadly, in 1993, Hepburn died from a rare form of abdominal cancer.

Audrey Hepburn

Kim Novak

Kim Novak was actually recruited by Colombia Pictures to initially replace Rita Heyworth who had suffered a decline in popularity during the 1950s, as well as to compete with 20th Century Fox’s Marilyn Monroe. Novak really secured her place in the industry when she featured in the Hitchcock film, Vertigo, but since the 1960s she only featured in a number of productions, and officially retired in the early 1990s. She announced that she was battling cancer in 2010, which she later overcame.

Kim Novak

Claudia Cardinale

Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale’s career really began when she won first place in the “Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia” competition. The competition took her to Italy, where she struggled with the language because her parents spoke Sicilian which is different from Italian, but her beauty got her various acting and modeling roles over the years. During the early years, in particular, her voice was dubbed over because of her accent and husky voice. Today, Cardinale is known for speaking out for women’s rights and, in the year 2000, became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the cause.

Claudia Cardinale

Beyonce Knowles

Old or young, today nearly everyone knows the name, Beyonce Knowles. The successful singer, songwriter, actress, and overall performer, who is also part of a power-couple with her husband, talented rapper and songwriter, Jay-Z. Beyonce started out as part of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, until she started her solo career with her debut album, Dangerously in Love, which was so well received she sold over 11 million copies worldwide and even won 5 Grammy Awards for it.

Beyonce Knowles

Jean Shrimpton

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Jean Shrimpton is on our list as she was considered one of the first supermodels in the world. Time Magazine named her one of the most influential fashion icons of all time. She also featured on the covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vanity Fair, amongst others. The composition of this photograph below, with all these rather creepy dolls, is not lost on us.

Jean Shrimpton

Kate Moss

Another British supermodel on our list is Kate Moss. She started her modeling career when she was just 14 and spotted at JFK airport by Sarah Doukas, the founder of Storm Model Management. Moss rose to fame during the 1990s, featuring on countless magazine covers. Moss is also a contributing fashion editor for British Vogue, as well as a successful businesswoman in her own right.

Kate Moss

Scarlett Johansson

This gorgeous woman is a renowned actress as well as having done a fair bit of modeling too. Oh, and she is also a singer! Johansson has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award, and she won the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in 2003 for her lead role performance in Lost in Translation. Johansson made the transition from mostly dramatic roles to a leading action hero for her part as Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers.

Scarlett Johansson

Megan Fox

Megan Fox has featured in a number of television and film productions since she started acting in 2001, one of which was the television sitcom, Hope and Faith. In 2004, she made her film debut with the teen comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and in 2007 she acted alongside Shia LeBeouf in Transformers which really brought her into the public eye. Despite her natural beauty, there has been much talk about cosmetic surgery being done at quite a young age. But then again, people love to talk.

Megan Fox

Kate Upton

American actress and model Kate Upton were crowned “Rookie of the Year” after she modeled for the feature Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2011. After this, she was the cover girl for the magazine for two consecutive years, in 2012 and 2013, and later she was the cover girl for Vanity Fair’s 100th-anniversary edition magazine. Upton became an almost overnight success with her classic American country girl beauty and dynamite physique.

Kate Upton

Halle Berry

Halle Berry has been noted for her acting skills, her beauty, and more importantly, her prominent role in the film industry for African-Americans. Some of her acting credits include Swordfish with John Travolta, the Bond film Die Another Day, Gothika, X-Men, and she even won an Academy Award for her outstanding performance in Monster’s Ball, becoming the first black American woman and actress to win the prestigious award for Best Actress.

Halle Berry

Adriana Lima

Of course stunning Brazilian model, Adriana Lima, is on our list! Lima started her career when she was only 15, but her career has really taken strides since then, as her net worth is estimated at around $85 million today. You can be assured that anyone this gorgeous would be scouted before she could even legally drive. The Victoria Secret model held the title of Victoria’s Secret Angel since 2000, and was the spokesperson for the cosmetics company Maybelline between 2003 and 2009.

Adriana Lima

Zoe Soldana

Zoe Soldana began acting in the theatre group, Faces, until she made her big-screen debut in 1999, when she appeared on the hit crime series, Law and Order. Then it was about another year until she had a big film role; playing a struggling ballet dancer in Centre Stage. Her film credits also include the amazing sci-fi film, Avatar, in 2009, as well as many Marvel Extended Universe hits, like Guardians of the Galaxy and most recently Avengers: Endgame.

Zoe Soldana

Gal Gadot

Gal Gadot, an Israeli who began modeling and acting to pay for her studies, has been an international hot conversation topic since she had her breakthrough role in Wonder Woman in 2017. Gadot was a combat instructor during her national service in Israel, then went on to study Law and International Relations at university. While she was a student she worked on her modeling career to help finance her studies and actually won the Miss Israel competition in 2004. She and her husband, Yaron Varsano, have two children together.

Gal Gadot

Lynda Carter

Since we are on the subject of wonder women, Lynda Carter is the actress who played the original Wonder Woman in the television series between 1975 and 1979. American actress, singer, songwriter, and model (she won the title of Miss World United States in 1972!), is also a proud and passionate LGBTQ rights activist. She was the Grand Marshal for both the New York and Phoenix Pride Parades in 2011.

Lynda Carter

Nicole Scherzinger

Singer and dancer, Nicole Scherzinger, was in a few bands before she really hit the jackpot with Pussycat Dolls in 2003. First, she was in Days of the New, and then Eden’s Crush, but when Pussycat Dolls started they were such a success, the band stayed together for seven years, until 2010. Scherzinger is also an actress and a television personality, and she has been a judge on the USA X-Factor panel for a while now too.

Nicole Scherzinger

Cindy Crawford

American actress and model, Cindy Crawford, stands out with her iconic mole above her lip, demonstrating that beauty is multi-faceted. She worked with Storm Model Agency for a long time and has been the face of numerous product campaigns. A formative experience for Crawford was the death of her three-year-brother, Jeff, who died of leukemia when she was 10 years old. This tragic experience motivated her to focus a lot of time and energy on activism and charity work surrounding childhood leukemia.

Cindy Crawford

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields started modeling when she was a child, and when she was just 12 years old she was offered a leading role in Louis Malle’s film Pretty Baby. The film was controversial as it had 12-year-old Shields playing a child prostitute living in New Orleans. Her mother was both supportive of her career but also arguably not with Brooke’s best interests at heart, allowing her to model on sets not suitable for children. In the 1990s Shields was promoted physical fitness and athletics as being compatible with femininity (I know, we take that for granted now!), and today she is an animal rights activist, as well as involved with girls’ mental health. Today she is married to Chris Henchy, and they have two children together.

Brooke Shields

Elisabeth Shue

Actress Elisabeth Shue has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA, for her fantastic acting. One of her earlier roles is one of our all-time favorite films, The Karate Kid (1984), but she is often associated with her roles in Cocktail from 1988, and Back to the Future in 1989. She is currently starring in the Amazon series, The Boys. We are also hoping to see her in the Karate Kid universe reboot, Netflix’s Cobra Kai, in the near future!

Elisabeth Shue

Pamela Anderson

Actress and model Pamela Anderson shot to fame with her red swimsuit when she played CJ Parker in the hit 1990s series Baywatch. Anderson was also well-known as a Playboy model. She has two children with her former partner, Tommy Lee, and is an avid animal rights activist. Anderson was incredibly famous as a sex symbol and bad girl, living her life exactly as she pleases. She also recorded a certain controversial independent movie.

Pamela Anderson

Catherine Bell

Catherine Bell really made her mark when she portrayed the much loved Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie in the hit series JAG, after which she went on to act in another army-themed television series, Army Wives, portraying Denise Sherwood. Bell was something of a military drama superstar and has done much for the public’s understanding of the US Military. She is currently working on Hallmark’s series The Good Witch in the role of Cassandra “Cassie” Nightingale.

Catherine Bell

Olivia Newton-John

Amongst other things, Olivia Newton-John played the unforgettable Sandy in the hit musical Grease. The English-Australian actress is also a singer and songwriter, as well as an entrepreneur and activist, and over the course of her career, she has collected four Grammy awards, had two number-one Billboard 200 solo albums, as well as five number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles. Olivia continues to perform to this day and seems to have an abundance of energy.

Olivia Newton John

Rihanna

Rihanna is such a well-known personality she doesn’t even need a last-name! This Caribbean singer is one of the most successful singers in history. She has succeeded in the music industry with countless image changes as well as changes in her style of music; whatever she does people love her and her music. She is the seventh best-selling music artist worldwide, having sold 250 million copies, with a net worth of around $600 million.

Rihanna

Caroline Munro

English actress Caroline Munro has acted in numerous films, in particular in the action, horror, and science fiction genres. Munro was a beloved staple of the mid to late 20th century’s horror scene and has appeared as or has run away from every type of vampire, ghost, zombie and serial killer imaginable. If you would like to enjoy an education in old-school horror classics, simply Google Caroline Munro and watch all the classics that she has starred in.

Caroline Munro

Lisa Bonet

Lisa Bonet, today 50 years old, is most well-known for her time playing Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, she also starred in the spinoff of the same show, A Different World, and her last role in film was in 2016 with the film Ray Donovan. Bonet has also been with Jason Momoa, Game of Thrones actor, since 2005, and the couple married in 2017. The exotically beautiful couple have two children together, and Lisa has a daughter from her previous relationship with Lenny Kravitz.

Lisa Bonet

Loretta Swit

Loretta Swit made an impression with her performance in hit TV series M.A.S.H, as nurse Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan. This is one of the most iconic roles in sitcom history, and Swit played her part with as much hilarious wit and attitude as possible. Once the show finished, to fans’ great misery, Swit did a bit more acting but today she runs her own jewelry line and does fundraising for animal rights charities.

Loretta Swit

Jeanne Tripplehorn

Jeanne Tripplehorn made her debut with the unforgettable blockbuster film Basic Instinct alongside Sharon Stone. Since then she has continued acting and featured in some big films such as Waterworld, and today has a central role in the long-running hit crime series Criminal Minds. We loved her part in Waterworld, one of the most ambitious and expensive flops of all time. The sci-fi dystopian adventure film was incredibly charming and endearing.

Jeanne Tripplehorn

Lindsay Wagner

Lindsay Wagner saw her fame skyrocket after she portrayed Jaime Sommers in The Bionic Woman, the role that also earned her a Grammy. Here she played a woman put back together again after a terrible accident as a cyborg with futuristic technology. Althugh this show is quite dated by now, it set the precedent for many sci-fi masterpieces of the future. She was recently cast as Alex’s mom in the hit TV series Grey’s Anatomy.

Lindsay Wagner

Catherine Bach

Catherine Bach is best known for her role in The Dukes of Hazzard, where she really caught the public’s eye, particularly as she made the “daisy duke look” so popular. Fans of The Dukes of Hazzard were sorely disappointed with the early 2000s remake of the iconic franchise, with Jessica Simpson failing to capture Bach’s charm and charisma. Today she is starring on the popular soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Catherine Bach

Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates had quite a number of roles during the 1980s, in films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Gremlins, to name but a few. She decided to retire from acting in 1991, but had a little comeback in 2001, when as a favor to her best friend she agreed to a role in The Anniversary Party. We really hope that she does more ‘favors’ for friends, and appears on our screens more often, as we think that this is a sorely underrated actress with so much to offer.

Phoebe Cates

Ali Macgraw

Ali MacGraw has worked on quite a number of films, but one of the roles we will remember her best for is for her performance in the 1970s classic Love Story, opposite Ryan O’Neal. It is one of the best romantic films ever made. If you want to cry your eyes out for the rest of the day, give the iconic testament to love a watch! MacGraw was also included in the list of 50 Most Beautiful People in People’s Magazine.

ALI MACGRAW, 79 YEARS OLD

Kelly LeBrock

Kelly LeBrock began her modeling career when she was just 16, featuring on numerous fashion spreads and magazine covers, and during the 1980s she was often given the role of the “fantasy” or “perfect” woman in movies. She took a break from acting for a while but made a comeback in 2013. It is amazing how actors take breaks from acting, or even make a point never to return, only to make surprise cameos or proper comebacks years later.

Kelly LeBrock

Kelly McGillis

Kelly McGillis featured in a good number of films during the 1980s, and is probably best known for playing Rachel Lapp in Witness, opposite Harrison Ford; as Charlie in Top Gun; and her role in The Accused, alongside Jodie Foster, where she played the character of Kathryn Murphy. Today she has the lead role in Mother of All Secrets. We really hope to see her make at least a cameo in the upcoming reboot of the iconic jetfighting classic.

Kelly McGillis

Lisa Whelchel

Today Lisa Whelchel works primarily as a motivational speaker, but she is also well known for her roles in The Mickey Mouse Club and in The Facts of Life. Welchel appeared in the 2012 edition of Survivor: Philipines, where she was adamant that her true celebrity identity be kept a secret from the rest of the contestants to avoid any bias or unwanted attention. Thankfully, most of her counterparts were too young to realize who she was!

Lisa Whelchel

Claudia Wells

Claudia Wells became famous when she featured as Jennifer in the Back to the Future films. When her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer Wells stopped acting for a while and didn’t appear in two sequels. We commend her for choosing her mother’s needs over her own and her career, but it was still a great shame that she had to drop out. In 2011 she returned to the industry and has had a few roles since then.

Claudia Wells

Julia Roberts

Today Julia Roberts in 50 years old but she started her acting career back in 1987, and three years later she shot to international stardom with her lead role in Pretty Woman with Richard Gere. Today, the actress and director, has three Golden Globe Awards and four Academy Awards. One of the Academy Awards was for Best Actress in the fabulous film, Erin Brokovich, where she played a dogged journalist dedicated to uncovering a dark conspiracy.

Julia Roberts

Victoria Principal

Victoria Principal is best known for her role in the hit soap opera Dallas, but today spends most of her time as an entrepreneur as well as doing lots of work for charity. Principal runs her own successful skincare company with its own incredible products (which, from the picture on the right, you can clearly see work incredibly). She is also an author and dedicated philanthropist. She maintains that personal accountability is the key to success.

Victoria Principal

Nicole Eggert

Nicole Eggert landed a role in the popular 1980s film Rich and Famous when she was just 8 years old. Since then she has acted in a number of popular Christmas movies, as well as having roles in productions such as Charles in Charge, and Baywatch. Recently, Eggert came out with some damning allegations against one of her former Charles in Charge co-stars. In 2014, she decided to purchase and operate an ice-cream truck!

Nicole Eggert

Kylie Minogue

Australian singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and philanthropist, Kylie Minogue, got her big break when she starred in popular Australian soap opera, Neighbors. She went on to become a hugely successful recording artist, often being called the “Goddess of Pop”, with her most recent album having been released in 2018. Minogue famously beat breast cancer several years ago, becoming a hero for those suffering from the disease. She also made a cameo in the classic musical film, Moulin Rouge.

Kylie Minogue

Lola Falana

Singer, dancer, and actress Lola Falana was actually discovered by Sammy Davis Jr. who gave her a role in his Broadway musical, Golden Boy, in 1964. Davis Jr. became her mentor, casting her in a number of his productions as well as helping her with her musical career, but in 1969 she ended their close working relationship. They remained on good terms and he still helped her further her career but she said “If I didn’t break away, I would always be known as the little dancer with Sammy Davis Jr… I wanted to be known as something more.” She indeed became much more, a successful performer in her own right, as well as becoming known as the “Black Venus”. She suffered a severe relapse of multiple sclerosis in 1987 leaving her with multiple health problems. She attributes her recovery to her religious beliefs and practices.

Lola Falana

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith began her acting career in 1969, appearing in a few films as an extra, but she really got her first big break in 1984 with her role in Body Double. Since then, Griffith has featured in numerous film and television shows with her latest film in 2017, Dabka, also known as The Pirates of Somalia. Griffith is also a dedicated philanthropist, being particularly dedicated to sick children in hospital.

Melanie Griffith

Alyssa Milano

Gorgeous Alyssa Milano actually started her Hollywood career when she was just 7 years old. Since then she is a well-known actress, singer, activist, producer, and well, all-round Goddess! Milano is probably best known for her roles in Who’s the Boss, Melrose Place, Charmed, and My Name in Earl. She has had an incredibly successful career and dominated the 80s and 90s, becoming a legendary figure in television history and appreciation.

Alyssa Milano

Demi Moore

We think you may be familiar with this knockout woman, she has been absolutely killing it in Hollywood since 1981, and is still killing it today! She has appeared in an incredible range of roles, from innocent girlfriend to bad girl adult performer. She has enjoyed an incredible series of famous partners too, such as Bruce Willis and the much younger Ashton Kutcher. What did you think of their age gap?

Demi Moore

Lea Thompson

Lea Thompson is probably best known from her performance as Lorraine Baines in Back to the Future trilogy, and as the central character in Caroline in the City. Alongside acting, Thompson also produces and directs television productions. Between 2011 and 2017, Thompson played Kathryn Kennish in the series Switched at Birth. She and director Howard Deutch have been married since 1989, an incredibly long and successful relationship for Hollywood standards.

Lea Thompson

Diane Lane

Diane Lane began her acting career in 1971 and is probably best known for her performances in Unfaithful, The Outsiders, A Perfect Storm, Under the Tuscan Sun, and for her role as Martha Kent in Man of Steel, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League. She played the mother to The Man of Steel fantastically, even if Batman vs Superman was one of the most disappointing superhero films of our time.

Diane Lane

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen began modeling and by 1989 she was named “Model of the Year” for Cover Girl Magazine. That publicity helped her get her first television role on popular high school sitcom, Saved by the Bell, as the gorgeous Kelly Kapowski. She went on to star in a number of films and television shows until she began hosting her own foodie show on the Cooking Channel, Dinner at Tiffani’s, in 2015.

Tiffani-Amber Thiessen

Elizabeth Berkley

Elizabeth Berkley also became a household name with her role on Saved by the Bell, where she played Jessie Spano. Berkley has kept acting since those early days, mostly in television, with her latest roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Dancing with the Stars, Melissa and Joey, and New Girl. As you can see from the comparison pictures below, Berkley has ages almost flawlessly, and even without a full face of makeup she looks magnificent.

Elizabeth Berkley

Lori Singer

Lori Singer is best known for her hit role in the 1984 feature film Footloose as well as her role in the hit television series, Fame. Not everyone knows this, but before she started acting Singer actually trained at Julliard as a cellist, and still plays the cello today. Today she is still acting as well as producing, recently having been the executive producer on the documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.

Lori Singer

Bo Derek

Bo Derek’s breakthrough role in the 1979 film 10 propelled her into fame, and the film’s poster – Derek in a swimsuit – also turned her into a seriously popular sex symbol of the era. She still acts in film and television today. Derek has always been incredibly active in her political affiliations, being a massive endorser of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. She is also an activist for wounded veterans.

Bo Derek

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate starred as the hilarious Kelly Bundy on the much-loved sitcom, Married… Children, between 1987 and 1997. That was just the start for her, as she went on to have a successful career in both film and television, getting nominated for countless awards along the way. She has starred in many comedies and romcoms, with hits such as 2002’s The Sweetest Things alongside Cameron Diaz and View From the Top with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Christina Applegate

Barbara Hershey

Barbara Hershey began acting when she was only 17 years old back in 1965, but only really had her breakthrough in the 1980s. Amongst other things, she starred in The Last Temptation of Christ, an unforgettable Martin Scorsese film, which earned her a Golden Globe Award. Most recently she featured in the 11th season premiere of The X-Files in 2018, a crowdpleasing cameo that amazed fans of the franchise and Hershey alike.

Barbara Hershey

Sigourney Weaver

Actress and film producer Sigourney Weaver first graced our screens in 1977, when she had a minor role in Annie Hall. Soon after that, she was cast in Alien, and that was the beginning of success for the actress. Her many appearances as Ripley in Ridley Scott’s horror sci-fi franchise are among the most iconic and terrifying. Since then, she has won plenty of awards as well as appearing on Broadway.

Sigourney Weaver

Barbi Benton

Barbi Benton began modeling when she was 16, and when she was 18 she was already featured on the cover of Playboy Magazine. You might think that this was far too young for anyone to appear in such a position, but Benton broke all the rules! Many also remember her for her role in the country variety series, Hee Haw, and for her music too, as she released a number of successful albums.

Barbi Benton

Erika Eleniak

Erika Eleniak is another Playboy favorite, who will also be remembered for playing Shauni McClain on Baywatch, where she temporarily fell in love with her co-star Billy Warlock. The two were engaged for an incredibly short time, soon breaking things off and canceling the wedding, if one was ever being planned! Eleniak is still acting, recently appearing in Desperate Housewives. Eleniak recently suffered a tragic miscarriage due to a ectopic pregnancy.

Erika Eleniak

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder is thought to be one of the most successful actresses of the 1980s and 90s, with one of her most outstanding performances in Tim Burton’s film Beetlejuice in 1988. Other films she featured in such as Heathers, Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, The Age of Innocence, Little Women, and so many more, really make her someone to remember. Ryder is currently starring in the Netflix series, Stranger Things, one of her most beloved and celebrated roles.

Winona Ryder

Kathleen Turner

Kathleen Turner’s role in Body Heat propelled her to fame, and she went on to win two Golden Globe Awards. Known for her raspy voice, she does a lot of voice acting and is also currently focusing on theatre. She played plenty of lascivious femme fatales in plenty of crime thrillers during the 80s. She was once nominated for an Academy Award. She sadly suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a highly debilitating illness.

Kathleen Turner

Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers is most well-known for her role in Three’s Company, as Chrissy Snow, and on Step by Step where she played Carol Foster Lambert. She did some more acting but since then has also released a series of self-help books that sold extremely well! Her dazzling smile has always lit up everyone who she met, and she continues to keep her vivacious blonde image strong and beautiful without looking her age.

Suzanne Somers

Anita Ekberg

Swedish-born actress, Anita Ekberg, started modeling when she was young, joining the 1950s beauty pageant Miss Malmö, followed by Miss Sweden, and then in 1951, Miss Universe. Although she didn’t win the pageant she was in the final six which got her a “starlet” contract with Universal Studios, where slowly but surely she was introduced to the film industry. She eventually moved permanently to Italy, where she filmed one of her most famous films La Dolce Vita. She died in 2015.

Anita Ekberg

Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden is best known for her lead role in Dream of Jeannie, the 1960s sitcom. She was actually not what the creators of the show originally wanted as they didn’t want to mimic Bewitched, another fantasy show which also had a blonde female lead. But in the event, apparently, Eden made such an impression on them they didn’t mind changing plans. She has left a timeless mark on Hollywood, being an incredibly lauded individual in general.

Barbara Eden

Sharon Tate

Sharon Tate was praised for her beauty since she was young, became a model, and was making it into the film industry as a promising newcomer after starring in a number of dramas as well as comedies. Unfortunately, her acting credits are mostly overlooked as she will forever be remembered for her tragic and senseless death at the hands of the Manson ‘clan’. At the time of her murder, she was eight months pregnant with the child of her husband, director, and fellow actor, Roman Polanski.

Sharon Tate

Brigitte Bardot

French dancer, singer, and actress Brigitte Bardot was one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and 60s. She started out as a junior model while still studying ballet, appearing on the cover of Elle at the age of 15 which subsequently brought her some acting offers. She began acting in a number of hit French theatre productions, and received international attention with her role in Robert Vadim’s controversial film And God Created Women. At a time of general conservatism, she often portrayed sexually liberated women, and even inspired Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist essay Brigitte Bardot and The Lolita Syndrome. She retired from acting just before her 39th birthday and used her fame to promote animal rights. Recently she has also been fined five times for inciting racial hatred.

Brigitte Bardot

Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch established her place as a star with her starring role in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C., the film in which she wore the famous fur bikini featured below. Other films you may know her from Bandolero, 100 Rifles, Bedazzled, as well as Legally Blonde. She was awarded the “Imagen Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2001 for the promotion of her Latin heritage. As you can see, she was born to play in adventure roles!

Raquel Welch

Kristy McNichol

Kirsty McNichol made her breakthrough when she played teenager Letitia ‘Buddy’ Lawrence, in the hit US television drama Family. Even before then she featured in a number of commercials and television series, managing to get the attention of some casting directors. Before long, the teenager was being nominated for Emmy’s and Grammy’s for her performances! While she has managed to distance herself from her child star status as an independent actress, we still love her for her adorable days in classic adverts.

Kristy McNichol

In 1980, McNichol landed her first leading role in a theatrical film with her role as Angel Bright in Little Darlings. The film was a real turning point for the young actress leading many to realize she was really in the acting scene to stay. But not to be forgotten, is the fact that she was still a teenager or in her early 20s in those booming years of her career, and the pressure of being in the limelight at such a young and formative age got to her, and she eventually decided to step out of the spotlight in 2001 and retire from her acting career. We are pretty sure she made enough cash through all her hard work that she will be just fine during retirement!