Top Actresses of the 1950s

A legendary American actress, model, comedienne and singer, Marilyn Monroe emerged as a major sex symbol in Hollywood in the 1950s and early 1960s. Amongst the most successful actresses of her time, she also won critical acclaim for her acting in movies like Some Like It Hot. Her personal and professional life, though from the beginning, were marked by hardships, struggles and controversies.

Aptly named by her parents, Grace Kelly was one of the most graceful and talented actresses of her era, starring in 11 feature films and over 60 TV productions. A darling of Alfred Hitchcock movies, this Oscar winning actress left her successful Hollywood career after her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and thus became the Princess of Monaco.

British actress Audrey Hepburn is counted among the greatest female screen legends in Golden Age Hollywood. Rising to prominence in the 1950s, she became one of the few people to win Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards. She devoted much of her time in her later life to UNICEF and was actively involved in humanitarian work.

Considered an incandescent beauty, Elizabeth Taylor was a very popular and successful actor and her legacy is an everlasting one. She shone in movies like A Place in the Sun, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Butterfield 8 in the 1950s and 60s. Recipient of two Oscars, she married eight times.

Amongst the top child artists of her generation, Natalie Wood garnered fame at the age of eight with the movie Miracle on 34th Street. Later, as an adult, she successfully established herself as a talented and sought after actress with movies like Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story. Her vibrant life came to an end after she died of drowning.