the top 50 of my favorites actresses

1. Emilia Clarke

British actress Emilia Clarke was born in London and grew up in Oxfordshire, England. Her father was a theatre sound engineer and her mother is a businesswoman. Her father was working on a theatre production of "Show Boat" and her mother took her along to the performance. This is when, at the age ...

2. Hayden Panettiere

Actress | Heroes

Hayden Lesley Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 in Palisades, New York, to actress Lesley Vogel and fire department captain Skip Panettiere. Her younger brother was actor Jansen Panettiere (1994-2023). Her parents are both of half Italian descent, along with German and English. Her mother got ...

3. Mila Kunis

Actress | Black Swan

Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis is a Ukrainian-American actress born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher, her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer, and she has an older brother named Michael. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991. ...

4. Alexandra Daddario

Actress | Baywatch

Alexandra Anna Daddario was born on March 16, 1986 in New York City, New York, to Christina, a lawyer, and Richard Daddario, a prosecutor. Her brother is actor Matthew Daddario, her sister is actor Catharine Daddario, and her grandfather was congressman Emilio Daddario (Emilio Q. Daddario), of ...

5. Kaley Cuoco

Actress | The Big Bang Theory

Kaley Christine Cuoco was born in Camarillo, California, to Layne Ann (Wingate) and Gary Carmine Cuoco, a realtor. She is of Italian (father) and German and English (mother) descent. A model and commercial actress from the age of 6, Cuoco's first major role was in the TV movie Quicksand: No Escape ...

6. Kristen Bell

Actress | Frozen

Kristen Anne Bell (born 1980) is an American actress and singer. She was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and is the daughter of Lorelei (Frygier), a nurse, and Tom Bell, a television news director. Her ancestry is Polish (mother) and German, English, Irish, and Scottish (father). ...

7. Emma Watson

Actress | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris, France, to British parents, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both lawyers. She moved to Oxfordshire when she was five, where she attended the Dragon School. From the age of six, Emma knew that she wanted to be an actress and, for a number of years,...

8. Elisha Cuthbert

Actress | The Girl Next Door

Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. She became internationally known for playing Kim Bauer in the series 24 (2001); Danielle in the teen comedy film The Girl Next Door (2004) and Carly Jones in the horror remake House of Wax (2005). She was voted the ...

9. Janelle Monáe

Soundtrack | Hidden Figures

Janelle Monáe is an American musical recording artist, actress and model signed to their own imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, and Atlantic Records.

They were born in Kansas City, Kansas, to Janet, a janitor, and Michael Robinson Summers, a truck driver. In 2010, Monáe released her first full-length ...

10. Ana de Armas

Actress | Blade Runner 2049

Ana de Armas was born in Cuba on April 30, 1988. At the age of 14 (2002) she began her studies at the National Theatre School of Havana, where she graduated after 4 years. At the age of 16 (2004) she made her first film, Virgin Rose (2006), directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. A few titles came ...

11. Salma Hayek

Actress | Frida

Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Her father is of Lebanese descent and her mother is of Mexican/Spanish ancestry. After having seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) in a local movie theater, she decided she wanted to become an actress. At age 12, she...

12. Jennifer Love Hewitt

Actress | I Know What You Did Last Summer

Jennifer Love Hewitt was born in Waco, Texas, to Patricia Mae (Shipp), a speech-language pathologist, and Herbert Daniel Hewitt, a medical technician. She has English, Italian, French, Scottish, and German ancestry. She got her first name from her older brother Todd Daniel Hewitt (b. November 8, ...

13. Emily Ratajkowski

Actress | We Are Your Friends

Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski was born in London, England, to American parents, Kathleen (Balgley), a professor, and John David Ratajkowski, a painter. She is of British Isles, German, Polish, and Jewish ancestry. Emily was raised in Encinitas, California, near San Diego. She traveled a lot, and also ...

14. Eliza Taylor

Actress | The 100

Australian actress Eliza Taylor is perhaps best known for anchoring the drama THE 100 as 'Clarke Griffin' on The CW for 7 seasons. Since the show's onset, Eliza made waves playing the network's first openly bisexual lead character. In the film space, Eliza starred in the indie thriller THUMPER ...

15. Rachel McAdams

Actress | The Notebook

Rachel Anne McAdams was born on November 17, 1978 in London, Ontario, Canada, to Sandra Kay (Gale), a nurse, and Lance Frederick McAdams, a truck driver and furniture mover. She is of English, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish descent. Rachel became involved with acting as a teenager and by the age of 13 ...

16. Natalie Portman

Actress | Black Swan

Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).

Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an ...

17. Kirsten Dunst

Actress | Spider-Man

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, ...

18. Ashley Benson

Actress | Spring Breakers

Ashley Victoria Benson was born on December 18, 1989 in Anaheim Hills, California, to Shannon (Harte) and Jeff Benson. She has Irish, English, and German ancestry. She has been dancing competitively since she was 2 with hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap and lyrical. She has been singing since she was ...

19. Scarlett Johansson

Actress | Lost in Translation

Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her mother, Melanie Sloan is from a Jewish family from the Bronx and her father, Karsten Johansson is a Danish-born architect from Copenhagen. She has a sister, Vanessa Johansson, who is also an actress, ...

20. Sophie Turner

Actress | Game of Thrones

Sophie Belinda Jonas (née Turner; born February 21, 1996) is an English actress. Turner made her professional acting debut as Sansa Stark on the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011) (2011-2019), which brought her international recognition and critical praise. For her performance, ...

21. Shelley Hennig

Actress | Unfriended

Shelley Hennig was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and has two older brothers. She spent much of her childhood as a competitive dancer. She was the fastest typist her senior year of high school as well as Miss Teen USA. Miss Teen USA gave her a scholarship to New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts ...

22. Kate Beckinsale

Actress | Underworld: Evolution

Kate Beckinsale was born on 26 July 1973 in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, and has resided in London for most of her life. Her mother is Judy Loe, who has appeared in a number of British dramas and sitcoms and continues to work as an actress, predominantly in British television productions. Her ...

23. Christina Ricci

Actress | Casper

Precocious, outspoken child-teen starlet of the 1990s, Christina Ricci was born on February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, the youngest of four children of Sarah (Murdoch), a realtor, and Ralph Ricci, a lawyer and therapist. She is of Italian (from her paternal grandfather), Irish, and ...

24. Eliza Dushku

Actress | Bring It On

Eliza Dushku was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Judith (Rasmussen), a political science professor, and Philip R. Dushku, a teacher and administrator. Her father is Albanian and her mother is American (of Danish, Irish, English, and German descent). She was discovered at the end of a five-month ...

25. Allison Scagliotti

Actress | Warehouse 13

Allison Scagliotti was born on September 21, 1990 in Monterey, California, USA as Allison Glenn Scagliotti. She is an actress, known as Claudia Donovan on Warehouse 13 (2009), as Maddie Clifford on Redemption Maddie (2007) and as Sawyer on Read It and Weep (2006). Her most recent television series ...

26. Melissa Benoist

Actress | Supergirl

Melissa Marie Benoist is an American actress, singer and dancer. She was raised in Littleton, Colorado , the daughter of Julie and Jim Benoist, a physician. She is of French, German, English, and Scottish descent. She started dance classes at the age of three and when she was four years old her ...

27. Chyler Leigh

Actress | Not Another Teen Movie

Chyler is an actress and singer who currently stars opposite Andie MacDowell in THE WAY HOME for Hallmark. She is well-known for playing "Alex Danvers" in SUPERGIRL for six seasons and "Lexie Grey" in GREY'S ANATOMY. Chyler also reprised her role of "Alex Danvers" in THE FLASH and has been featured...

28. Morena Baccarin

Actress | Deadpool

Morena Baccarin was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to actress Vera Setta and journalist Fernando Baccarin. Her uncle was actor Ivan Setta. She is of Italian as well as Lebanese and Portuguese/Brazilian descent. She moved to New York at the age of ten, when her father was transferred there. She ...

29. Addison Timlin

Actress | Odd Thomas

Addison Timlin began her career with the 2000-01 National Tour of "Annie". She performed every orphan role before taking over the role of Annie when she was 9 years old. Her love of stage continued to several productions of Annie including Papermill Playhouse and the Theater of The Stars Tour ...

30. Margot Robbie

Actress | Suicide Squad

Margot Elise Robbie was born on July 2, 1990 in Dalby, Queensland, Australia to Scottish parents. Her mother, Sarie Kessler, is a physiotherapist, and her father, is Doug Robbie. She comes from a family of four children, having two brothers and one sister. She graduated from Somerset College in ...

31. Lily James

Actress | Cinderella

Lily James was born Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson in Esher, Surrey, to Ninette (Mantle), an actress, and Jamie Thomson, an actor and musician. Her grandmother, Helen Horton, was an American actress. She began her education at Arts Educational School in Tring and subsequently went on to study acting at...

32. Maggie Lawson

Actress | Gamer

Maggie Lawson was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. When she was eight, she began appearing in local community and dinner theater productions, and at 10, she earned an on-air commercial gig at a Louisville TV station, which soon led to a steady six-year role as a TV personality who filed ...

33. Elisabeth Harnois

Actress | Keith

Elisabeth was born in Detroit in 1979 and grew up in Los Angeles. An actress since the age of 3, she co-starred at the age of 5 in two movies (One Magic Christmas (1985) and Where Are the Children? (1986)). She did numerous TV commercials until being chosen by Disney Productions to star as Alice in...

34. Candice King

Actress | Juno

Candice Rene King (née Accola) (born May 13, 1987) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, known for portraying the role of Caroline Forbes on The CW's The Vampire Diaries.

Candice King was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Carolyn (Clark), who was an environmental engineer before ...

35. Stana Katic

Actress | Castle

Stana Katic recently starred in the TV series, Absentia, streaming on Amazon. It's a thriller-drama produced by Sony Pictures Television. Upon debut it was one of Amazon's top-ten most popular programs.

Stana's feature film work includes, CBGB, Big Sur, The Spirit, Feast of Love, The Double and Bond...

36. Rachael Taylor

Actress | Transformers

Rachael Taylor grew up in Tasmania, Australia, with her parents Nigel and Christine Taylor. She began modelling during her teens, working for the Skye-Jilly International agency. She competed for Miss Teen Tasmania, as well as the Miss Universe/Miss World state finals. She moved to Sydney to ...

37. Emmanuelle Chriqui

Actress | Wrong Turn

Emmanuelle Chriqui was born in Montreal, Quebec, to Moroccan Jewish immigrants, Liliane (Benisty) and Albert Chriqui. Her family moved to Toronto when she was two years old. At the age of 10, Chriqui appeared in a McDonald's commercial. She moved to Vancouver, guest-starring in series such as Are ...

38. Mena Suvari

Actress | American Beauty

Mena Alexandra Suvari was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the youngest of four children. She is the daughter of Ando Suvari, a psychiatrist, and the former Candice Chambers, a nurse. Mena's first name comes from her British aunt named after the "House of Mena" Hotel (at the base of the pyramids in ...

39. Blake Lively

Actress | Gossip Girl

Blake Ellender Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987 in Los Angeles, California to Elaine Lively & Ernie Lively. Her brother is actor Eric Lively, and her half-siblings are actors Lori Lively, Robyn Lively and Jason Lively. She followed her parents' and siblings' steps. Her first ...

40. Jessica Alba

Actress | Fantastic Four

Jessica Marie Alba was born on April 28, 1981, in Pomona, CA, to Catherine (Jensen) and Mark David Alba, who served in the US Air Force. Her father is of Mexican descent (including Spanish and Indigenous Mexican roots), and her mother has Danish, Welsh, English, and French ancestry. Her family ...

41. Jennifer Lopez

Producer | Hustlers

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in The Bronx, New York City, New York to teacher Lupe López and computer specialist David López. The two Puerto Ricans were brought to the continental United States during their childhoods and eventually met while living in New York City. Their ...

42. Olivia Wilde

Actress | Tron: Legacy

Actress and activist Olivia Wilde is a modern day renaissance woman, starring in many acclaimed film productions, while simultaneously giving back to the community.

She was born on March 10, 1984 in New York City. Her parents are Leslie Cockburn (née Leslie Corkill Redlich) and Andrew Cockburn. Her ...

43. Lauren Cohan

Actress | The Boy

Lauren Cohan is a British-American actress and model, best known for her role as Maggie Greene on The Walking Dead (2010) and recurring roles on The Vampire Diaries (2009), Supernatural (2005), and Chuck (2007). After her film debut on Casanova (2005) as Sister Beatrice, she starred in the sequel ...

44. Maisie Williams

Actress | The New Mutants

Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born April 15, 1997) is an English actress. She made her professional acting debut as Arya Stark in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones, for which she won the EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, the Portal Award for Best Supporting ...

45. Yvonne Strahovski

Actress | Stateless

Yvonne Jaqueline Strzechowski was born and raised in Australia. Her parents were Polish immigrants. She attended the Santa Sabina College for her high school education. She then went on to study Performance at the University of Western Sydney's School of Contemporary Arts, graduating in 2003. ...

46. Teresa Palmer

Actress | Warm Bodies

Actress and model Teresa Palmer has gathered some impressive film credits. She was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Kevin Palmer, an investor, and Paula Sanders, a former missionary and nurse. She completed high school at Mercedes College in 2003, where she was a popular student who was ...

47. Jennifer Aniston

Actress | Friends

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her father was Greek, and her mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent. Jennifer spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City...

48. Laura Vandervoort

Actress | The Handmaid's Tale

Born in Toronto, Canada, Laura Vandervoort is a versatile actress who not only crosses over genres, but also transforms from character to character embracing the essence of every role she plays. Best known for her roles on the television shows "Smallville" as Supergirl, and "V," Laura has built an ...

49. Willa Holland

Actress | Legion

Willa Joanna Chance Holland (born June 18, 1991) is an American actress, voice actress and model. She is known for her role as Kaitlin Cooper in the FOX teen drama The O.C., Agnes Andrews in The CW series Gossip Girl and, most recently, Thea Queen / Speedy in Arrow. Holland was born in Los Angeles,...

50. Rose McIver

Actress | The Lovely Bones

Rose McIver was born in New Zealand to artist Ann "Annie" Coney and professional photographer John George Whitfield "Mac" McIver. Rose has an older brother, musician Paul McIver.

McIver started appearing in commercials when she was only 2 years old. She made her film debut in the film "The Piano" (...