Leading lady
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Leading lady is a term often applied to the leading actress in the performance if her character is the protagonist. It is also an informal term for the actress who plays a secondary lead, usually a love interest, to the leading actor in a film or play.
A leading lady can also be an actress of renown. For example, Lynn Fontanne and Helen Hayes were both referred to as the "leading lady of the theatre" in their time. Similarly, Mary Pickford was called the "leading lady" of the cinema.
The term has been applied to an actress who is often associated with one particular actor. For example, Olivia de Havilland was Errol Flynn's leading lady in several films, Katharine Hepburn had a similar association with Spencer Tracy, Lauren Bacall with Humphrey Bogart, and Maureen O'Hara with John Wayne. A leading lady is also an actress who is typecast in romantic supporting roles.
The term can also be used collectively; for example, the phrase "Hollywood's leading ladies" can be used to refer to a group of notable, famous, or popular actresses.
Classical day leading ladies include:[citation needed]
- Marie Dressler
- Louise Dresser
- Ethel Barrymore
- Jane Darwell
- Margaret Dumont
- Estelle Winwood
- Billie Burke
- Theda Bara
- Spring Byington
- Beulah Bondi
- Pearl White
- Clara Kimball Young
- Marjorie Main
- Helen Broderick
- Mary Pickford
- Ruth Chatterton
- Alice Brady
- Lillian Gish
- Mae West
- Hattie McDaniel
- Norma Talmadge
- Mae Marsh
- Lois Wilson
- Gracie Allen
- Mae Murray
- Blanche Sweet
- Ethel Waters
- Viola Dana
- Judith Anderson
- Marion Davies
- Irene Dunne
- Shirley Booth
- Gertrude Lawrence
- Constance Talmadge
- Gloria Swanson
- Gale Sondergaard
- May McAvoy
- Colleen Moore
- Jean Arthur
- Agnes Moorehead
- Louise Beavers
- Joan Crawford
- Marlene Dietrich
- Vilma Bánky
- Bebe Daniels
- Norma Shearer
- Tallulah Bankhead
- Thelma Ritter
- Flora Robson
- Claudette Colbert
- Dolores Costello
- Anne Revere
- Jeanette MacDonald
- Ann Miller
- Una Merkel
- Constance Bennett
- Dolores del Río
- Greta Garbo
- Anna May Wong
- Clara Bow
- Louise Brooks
- Mary Astor
- Joan Blondell
- Betty Bronson
- Madeleine Carroll
- Thelma Todd
- Katharine Hepburn
- Barbara Stanwyck
- Rosalind Russell
- Fay Wray
- Ann Todd
- Joan Davis
- Annabella
- Bette Davis
- Carole Lombard
- Anna Magnani
- Penny Singleton
- Eve Arden
- Helen Twelvetrees
- Ethel Merman
- Lupe Vélez
- Margaret Sullavan
- Virginia Bruce
- Jessica Tandy
- Ann Sothern
- Carmen Miranda
- Sylvia Sidney
- Joan Bennett
- Jane Wyatt
- Kitty Carlisle
- Mae Clarke
- Claire Trevor
- Gloria Stuart
- Simone Simon
- Ginger Rogers
- Jean Harlow
- Lucille Ball
- Butterfly McQueen
- Martha Scott
- Maria Montez
- Nina Mae McKinney
- Vivien Leigh
- Loretta Young
- Mary Martin
- Evelyn Venable
- Hedy Lamarr
- Dorothy Lamour
- Ingrid Bergman
- Ann Sheridan
- Édith Piaf
- Betty Grable
- Irene Worth
- Marie Wilson
- Dinah Shore
- Dorothy McGuire
- Mercedes McCambridge
- Olivia de Havilland
- Joan Fontaine
- Susan Hayward
- June Allyson
- Jane Wyman
- Danielle Darrieux
- Ann Rutherford
- Rita Hayworth
- Pearl Bailey
- Teresa Wright
- Jennifer Jones
- Marie Windsor
- Maureen O'Hara
- Gene Tierney
- Shelley Winters
- Virginia Mayo
- Laraine Day
- Melina Mercouri
- Martine Carol
- Lana Turner
- Deborah Kerr
- Jane Russell
- Betty Hutton
- Esther Williams
- Cyd Charisse
- Alexis Smith
- Vera-Ellen
- Simone Signoret
- Judy Garland
- Ava Gardner
- Veronica Lake
- Dorothy Dandridge
- Doris Day
- Yvonne De Carlo
- Barbara Bel Geddes
- Lizabeth Scott
- Ruby Dee
- Ruth Roman
- Anne Baxter
- Linda Darnell
- Lauren Bacall
- Dorothy Malone
- Gail Russell
- Jeanne Crain
- Gloria DeHaven
- Marilyn Monroe
- Jane Withers
- Maria Schell
- Irene Papas
- Janet Leigh
- Gina Lollobrigida
- Shirley Temple
- Ann Blyth 1928
- Audrey Hepburn
- Grace Kelly
- Jean Simmons
Modern day leading ladies include:[citation needed]
- Diana Dors
- Leslie Caron
- Mamie Van Doren
- Claire Bloom
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Debbie Reynolds
- Jayne Mansfield
- Kim Novak
- Joan Collins
- Elizabeth Montgomery
- Nina Simone
- Judi Dench
- Shirley MacLaine
- Brigitte Bardot
- Sophia Loren
- Julie Andrews
- Ursula Andress
- Jane Fonda
- Vanessa Redgrave
- Suzanne Pleshette
- Natalie Wood
- Jean Seberg
- Claudia Cardinale
- Romy Schneider
- Etta James
- Tina Turner
- Dusty Springfield
- Raquel Welch
- Nancy Sinatra
- Julie Christie
- Faye Dunaway
- Ann-Margret
- Darlene Love
- Barbra Streisand
- Aretha Franklin
- Catherine Deneuve
- Janis Joplin
- Joni Mitchell
- Gloria Gaynor
- Jacqueline Bisset
- Diana Ross
- Patti LaBelle
- Gladys Knight
- Bette Midler
- Helen Mirren
- Goldie Hawn
- Mia Farrow
- Diane Keaton
- Candice Bergen
- Susan Sarandon
- Charlotte Rampling
- Liza Minnelli
- Cher
- Dolly Parton
- Sally Field
- Patti Smith
- Jane Birkin
- Glenn Close
- Farrah Fawcett
- Kathy Bates
- Donna Summer
- Jessica Lange
- Meryl Streep
- Sigourney Weaver
- Sissy Spacek
- Bonnie Raitt
- Karen Carpenter
- Mary Hopkin
- Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Mary Steenburgen
- Isabelle Huppert
- Kim Basinger
- Annie Lennox
- Oprah Winfrey
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Isabelle Adjani
- Reba McEntire
- Carrie Fisher
- La Toya Jackson
- Frances McDormand
- Gloria Estefan
- Jamie Lee Curtis
- Angela Bassett
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- Jennifer Tilly
- Annette Bening
- Sharon Stone
- Madonna
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Holly Hunter
- Julianne Moore
- Tilda Swinton
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Meg Ryan
- Jodie Foster
- Demi Moore
- Whitney Houston
- Sandra Bullock
- Juliette Binoche
- Monica Bellucci
- Laura Linney
- Courteney Cox
- Viola Davis
- Julia Ormond
- Björk
- Halle Berry
- Salma Hayek
- Helena Bonham Carter
- Cindy Crawford
- Janet Jackson
- Nicole Kidman
- Julia Roberts
- Naomi Watts
- Ashley Judd
- Kylie Minogue
- Celine Dion
- Jennifer Aniston
- Cate Blanchett
- Renée Zellweger
- Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Mariah Carey
- Jennifer Lopez
- Octavia Spencer
- Taraji P. Henson
- Melissa McCarthy
- Uma Thurman
- Jennifer Connelly
- Rachel Weisz
- Queen Latifah
- Amy Poehler
- Winona Ryder
- Mary J. Blige
- Cameron Diaz
- Gwyneth Paltrow
- Jennifer Garner
- Kate Beckinsale
- Amy Adams
- Olivia Colman
- Penélope Cruz
- Sarah Paulson
- Hilary Swank
- Marion Cotillard
- Angelina Jolie
- Charlize Theron
- Kate Winslet
- Drew Barrymore
- Reese Witherspoon
- Audrey Tautou
- Shakira
- Fiona Apple
- Katie Holmes
- Kate Hudson
- Pink
- Michelle Williams
- Christina Aguilera
- Natalie Portman
- Jessica Alba
- Beyoncé
- Britney Spears
- Jennifer Hudson
- Amy Lee
- Paris Hilton
- Anne Hathaway
- Jessica Biel
- Kirsten Dunst
- Nicki Minaj
- Kelly Clarkson
- Emily Blunt
- Golshifteh Farahani
- Amy Winehouse
- Scarlett Johansson
- Katy Perry
- Avril Lavigne
- Gal Gadot
- Keira Knightley
- Amanda Seyfried
- Lady Gaga
- Hilary Duff
- Kesha
- Emma Stone
- Alicia Vikander
- Rihanna
- Adele
- Jessie J
- Brie Larson
- Taylor Swift
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Margot Robbie
- Kristen Stewart
- Emma Watson
- Selena Gomez
- Saoirse Ronan
- Hailee Steinfeld
- Anya Taylor-Joy
- Elle Fanning
Minnie Mouse, an anthropomorphic animated character, has been the most notable and most successful cartoon leading lady for The Walt Disney Company over the generations, who mostly portrays the secondary lead roles to her respective boyfriend and the company's mascot Mickey Mouse.[1] Also other popular animated characters such as Betty Boop, Jessica Rabbit, Olive Oyl, Daisy Duck, Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble, Jane Jetson and Judy Jetson, Marge Simpson, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley, Lola Bunny, Lois Griffin, Leela.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Minnie Mouse receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame". 6ABC Philadelphia. January 22, 2018.
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