The Top 20 Actresses of the Last 20 Years

The Top 20 Actresses of the Last 20 Years

1. Julia Roberts

Julia Fiona Roberts, born in Smyrna, Georgia, never dreamed she would become the most popular actress in America. As a child, due to her love of animals, Julia originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but later studied journalism. When her brother, Eric Roberts, achieved some success in Hollywood...

“ She has dominated the landscape of the last two decades with hits such as Pretty Woman and My Best Friend's Weddingand took home the Oscar with Erin Brokovich and we still have a bit of a crush on her..

2. Meryl Streep

Considered by many movie reviewers to be the greatest living film actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 17 times, and has won it twice. Born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, Meryl's early performing ambitions leaned toward the opera. She became...

“ She's been nominated for 16 Oscars (won two) and eight have been in the last 20 years. She grants humanity to even the most odious characters but can also can play light and hit it big as she proved with Mama Mia! 

3. Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969 in Australia to an American father and an Australian mother. She has an older brother and an younger sister. When she was ten years old, her 40-year old father died of a sudden heart attack. Her mother never remarried, and her grandmother moved in to help her mother...

“ Could anyone else play Queen Elizabeth, Galadriel, Katharine Hepburn, and Bob Dylan? Perhaps the most versatile actress of the impressive, versatile lot.

4.Kate Winslet

Ask Kate Winslet what she liked about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume; that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to modern-day mysticism and erotica...

“ Possibly the most fearless actress Winslet made Titanic's Rose DeWitt Bukater real and has never shied away from playing unpopular (sometimes painfully so) characters

5.Jodie Foster

Ask Kate Winslet what she liked about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume; that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to modern-day mysticism and erotica...

“ Possibly the most fearless actress Winslet made Titanic's Rose DeWitt Bukater real and has never shied away from playing unpopular (sometimes painfully so) characters

6.Nicole Kidman

Elegant redhead Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to 

Australian parents Anthony (a biochemist and clinical psychologist) and Janelle (a nursing instructor) Kidman. The family 

moved almost immediately to Washington, DC, where Nicole's father pursued his research on breast cancer...

“ The creature most think of when they think of a glamorous actress Kidman seemed to will her persona into existence then 

was able to lampoon it in To Die For and Moulin Rouge. Her            

7.Sandra Bullock

In 1964, Sandra Bullock was born in a Virginia suburb of Washington, DC, to a voice teacher and a German opera singer. She grew up on the road with her parents and younger sister. She often performed in the children's chorus of whatever production her mother was in. That singing talent later came in handy for her role as an aspiring country singer in The Thing Called Love...

“ Calling her "America's Sweetheart" may seem unfair but it is precisely Bullock's winning screen personality that has kept her around for the last two decades, culminating in an Oscar for

8. Halle Berry

alle Berry was born on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA to African American father Jerome Berry, a former hospital attendant, and Caucasian mother Judith Berry, a retired psychiatric nurse. Halle also has an older sister named Heidi Berry. Halle first came into the spotlight at 17 years old when she won the Miss Teen All-American Pageant...

“ 1) Bond girl 2) First African American actress to win Best Actress (for Monster's Ball). 3) Super-hero franchise. Who else can claim that?

9.   

Emma Thompson was born in London on April 15, 1959, into a family of actors - her father was Eric Thompson, who has passed away, and her mother, Phyllida Law, has co-starred with Thompson in several films (her sister, Sophie Thompson, is an actor as well). Thompson's wit was earlier cultivated by a cheerful...

“ Thompson cut a huge swath through much of the '90s in films such as Sense and Sensibility, Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father. She's recently transitioned into the sensible matron, be it an unorthodox one, like Nanny McPhee, or a pragmatic one, as her headmistress in An Eduction. ” 

 

10.

Angelina Jolie

Actress, Changeling

Angelina Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press...

“ Put the tabloids aside and recall that she is an Oscar-winner (Girl, Interrupted) and nominee (The Changeling) And she was also grievously overlooked for her role in A Mighty Heart. She's also starred in some butt-kicking franchise attempts (Lara Croft, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted) and has the kind of star-wattage that can get films made (Salt). ”

 

11.

Julianne Moore

Actress, Magnolia

The daughter of a military judge and a Scottish social worker, Julianne Moore was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on December 3, 1960. She spent the early years of her life in over two dozen locations around the world with her parents before she finally found her place at Boston University, where...

“ Nominated for four Oscars playing everything from a motherly porn star to a repressed housewife Moore may be up for another one with . The Kids are All Right. ” - IMDb Editors

 

12.

Susan Sarandon

Actress, Thelma & Louise

It was shortly after the 1968 Democratic convention and there was a casting call for a film with several roles for the kind of young people who had disrupted the convention. Two graduates of Catholic University in Washington DC, went to the audition in New York for Joe. Chris Sarandon, who had studied to be an actor, was passed over. His wife Susan got a major role...

“ Nominated for five Oscars she won one for her role as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. She was Louise in Thelma & Louise and now plays the Mom in everything from Speed Racerto Leaves of Grass. 

 

13.

Helen Mirren

Actress, The Queen

“ She has such regal bearing now, despite her earlier, randier roles (Caligula, The Cook, The Thief..., Excalibur, anyone?). Mirren is the picture of reserve and determination, the vertible iron fist in the velvet glove. Nominated for four Oscars and won one for The Queen. ” - IMDb Editors

 

14.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Actress, Se7en

The daughter of noted producer Bruce Paltrow and Tony award-winning actress Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow was born in 1972 in Los Angeles. When Gwyneth was 11, the family moved to Massachusetts where her father began working in summer stock productions in the Berkshires. It was here that she received her early acting training under the tutelage of her parents...

“ She took a big long break during the last ten years to have a life but Paltrow appears here nonetheless. She won an Oscar for her only nomination in Shakespeare in Love and recently has been the sanity check of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. Who else could pull off playing a character named Pepper Potts? ” - IMDb Editors

 

15.

Hilary Swank

Actress, Million Dollar Baby

Hilary was discovered as a child by producer Suzy Sachs, who coached her in acting. When she was nine years old, she starred in her first play as "Mowgli" in "The Jungle Book". She began to appear regularly in local theater and school plays. She went to school in Bellingham, where she lived with her family...

“ One of our editors uses the mnemonic to recall how to spell her first name: "One 'L', two Oscars." When she's on, she's on. ” - IMDb Editors

 

16.

Cameron Diaz

Actress, There's Something About Mary

A tall, strikingly attractive blue-eyed bottle blonde, Cameron Diaz was born in 1972 in San Diego. She is the daughter of Billie (Anglo-German) and Emilio Diaz (Cuban-American). Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan...

“ From her smokin' hot first appearance in The Mask, toSomething About Mary to Charile's Angels to Shrek, Diaz has more than earned her place here. ” -

 

17.

Renée Zellweger

Actress, Bridget Jones's Diary

Renée Kathleen Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, USA to parents Emil Erich Zellweger, a Swiss-born engineer who married Renée's mother Kjellfrid Irene Andreassen, a Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife in 1963. Renée also has a brother named Drew Zellweger, a marketing executive born on February 15...

“ She had us at "Hello" with The Whole Wide World and then her turn as Jerry Maguire's wife. She won an Oscar for Cold Mountain and, amazingly, drew everyone's eyes off ofCatherine Zeta-Jones during the Chicago finale. She's pulled off a coup embodying Bridget Jones. ” - 

 

18.

Meg Ryan

Actress, Sleepless in Seattle

Blond-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan graduated from Bethel high school, Bethel in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while working on her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan...

“ There was a time, the '90s, to be precise, when every screenplay in town that another actress got had Ryan's fingerprints on it (meaning she'd already been shown it first and had passed on it). ” 

 

19.

Jennifer Aniston

Actress, The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate

Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Jennifer Aniston spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City where her parents, John Aniston andNancy Dow, divorced when she was 9. Jennifer was raised by her mother and her father landed a role...

“ She conquered TV and has since become a one-woman cottage industry creating rom-coms but has also tried to stretch herself with unsuccessful but at least interesting indies. ” 

 

20.

Judi Dench

Actress, Casino Royale

Attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and at Old Vic Theatre. She is a ten-time BAFTA winner including Best Actress in a Comedy Series for A Fine Romance in which she appeared with her husband...

“ Nominated for 6 Oscars (she won for her shortest appearance, as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love) and as "M" in the most recent iteration of the Bond series. ”