Nicole Kidman
(1964- )

Kidman's range -- which includes comedy, action, and serious drama -- is as striking as her fiery red hair.

Best Films: Dead Calm (1989), Days of Thunder (1990), Flirting (1991), Far and Away (1992), Malice (1993), Batman Forever (1995), To Die For (1995), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Peacemaker (1997), Practical Magic (1998), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Moulin Rouge! (2001), The Others (2001), The Hours (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), Dogville (2003), The Human Stain (2003), Birth (2004), The Stepford Wives (2004), Bewitched (2005), The Interpreter (2005), Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), The Invasion (2007), Margot at the Wedding (2007), Australia (2008), Nine (2009), Rabbit Hole (2010), Just Go With It (2011), The Paperboy (2012)

Vivien Leigh
(1913-1967)

The Gone with the Wind star made fewer than two dozen movies, but the combination of icy beauty and inner fire made her unforgettable.

Best Films: Fire Over England (1937), Gone With the Wind (1939), Waterloo Bridge (1940), That Hamilton Woman (1941), Caesar and Cleopatra (1946), Anna Karenina (1948), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961), Ship of Fools (1965)

Carole Lombard
(1908-1942)

She could have coasted on her platinum-blonde looks, but Lombard showed she had sublime comic timing in My Man Godfrey.

Best Films: No Man of Her Own (1932), Twentieth Century (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), Nothing Sacred (1937), Swing High, Swing Low (1937), In Name Only (1939), Made for Each Other (1939), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941), To Be or Not To Be (1942)

Sophia Loren
(1934- )

An Italian bombshell with talent as generous as her curves, Loren could be sultry, funny, and heartbreaking.

Best Films: Boy on a Dolphin (1957), Houseboat (1958), Heller in Pink Tights (1960), Two Women (1960), El Cid (1961), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Marriage Italian Style (1964), Arabesque (1966), A Countess From Hong Kong (1967), Man of La Mancha (1972), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Nine (2009)

Myrna Loy
(1905-1993)

Witty and urbane, Loy excelled in The Thin Man series of movies, playing the brainier half of society sleuths Nick and Nora.

Best Films: Don Juan (1926), So This is Paris (1926), Manhattan Melodrama (1934), The Thin Man (1934) (and five sequels), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Love Crazy (1941), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), Cheaper By the Dozen (1950)

Shirley MacLaine
(1934- )

An energetic redhead with a saucy smile, MacLaine made hooking seem wholesome in Irma La Douce and Sweet Charity.

Best Films: Some Came Running (1958), The Apartment (1960), Can Can (1960), The Children's Hour (1961), Irma La Douce (1963), Sweet Charity (1969), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979), Terms of Endearment (1983), Steel Magnolias (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Guarding Tess (1994), The Evening Star (1996), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), Bewitched (2005), Rumor Has It...(2005), Closing the Ring (2007), Bernie (2011)

Marilyn Monroe
(1926-1962)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, and Some Like it Hot showcased the buxom, blue-eyed blonde's comic gifts.

Best Films: All About Eve (1950), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Clash By Night (1952), Monkey Business (1952), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Niagara (1953), River of No Return (1954), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Bus Stop (1956), The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), Some Like It Hot (1959), Let's Make Love (1960), The Misfits (1961)

Maureen O'Hara
(1920- )

From The Quiet Man to Miracle on 34th Street, O'Hara brought a dash of color to every movie she made.

Best Films: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Black Swan (1942), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Sitting Pretty (1948), Rio Grande (1950), Against All Flags (1952), The Quiet Man (1952), The Wings of Eagles (1957), Our Man in Havana (1960), The Parent Trap (1961), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), McLintock! (1963), The Rare Breed (1966), Only the Lonely (1991)

Mary Pickford
(1892-1979)

Wholesomely pretty, 'America's Sweetheart' was the first real movie star and co-founded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Best Films: In Old Kentucky (1909), Ramona (1910), The New York Hat (1912), Tess of the Storm Country (1914, 1922), The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), Stella Maris (1918), Daddy Long Legs (1919), Pollyanna (1920), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921), Tess of the Storm Country (1922), Little Annie Rooney (1925), Sparrows (1926), My Best Girl (1927), Coquette (1929), The Taming of the Shrew (1929)

Natalie Portman
(1981- )

Portman gives her all to every role, from a 12-year-old assassin (The Professional) to a ballerina losing her grip on reality (Black Swan).

Best Films: The Professional (1994) (aka Leon), Beautiful Girls (1996), Anywhere But Here (1999), Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), Closer (2004), Garden State (2004), Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), V for Vendetta (2006), Goya's Ghosts (2006), Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Black Swan (2010)