The American Film Institute's 5 Greatest Actresses

In 1999, the American Film Institute released its list of the 50 greatest Hollywood stars of the 20th century, and selecting the best actresses out of the bunch was certainly a tall task. The competition was so stacked that women like Ginger Rogers, Grace Kelly and Rita Hayworth were not even among the Top 10. So who were the Top 5 women selected by the AFI?

Aside from being one of the most recognized and acclaimed actresses in history, Katharine Hepburn’s career is also of great importance because she forced Americans to reevaluate their expectations for female behavior, both in films themselves and off the movie set as well. 

Bette Davis presided over Hollywood at a time in which the film industry was at its most influential. Every actress from Katharine Hepburn to Ingrid Bergman and Ginger Rodgers, themselves now considered among Hollywood’s greatest icons, lived in the shadow of Bette Davis.

For someone whose career ended over 30 years ago, Audrey Hepburn continues to retain her popularity and exert a strong influence over how people view beauty and sophistication. She remains an American icon, despite the fact that she did not even move to the United States until 1953 (at the age of 24) and spent the majority of her life living in Europe.

At times during her career, Bergman was the darling of Hollywood, but at other times she was literally a pariah. It is all too common to remember Bergman for her performance in Casablanca, forgetting the fact that she was effectively exiled from Hollywood for several years during her romance with Roberto Rossellini.

Of all the great movie stars, there may be none more enigmatic than Greta Garbo, who remains internationally famous despite the fact her life and career raise more questions than answers. How did a Swedish actress with very little film acting experience in her native land arrive in the United States and achieve instant stardom?