Sophia Loren was born as in Rome, Italy, in 1934. At age 14, she entered into a beauty contest where she was placed as one of the finalists. It was there that Sophia caught the attention of film producer Carlo Ponti, some 22 years her senior, whom she eventually married in 1966. By her late teens, Sophia was playing lead roles in many Italian features such as La Favorita (1953) and Aida (1953). In 1957, she embarked on a successful acting career in the United States. Sophia remained a bona fide international movie star throughout the sixties and seventies, making films on both sides of the Atlantic, and starring opposite such leading men as Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Gregory Peck, and Charlton Heston. During these years she received a second Oscar nomination and won five Golden Globe Awards. From the eighties onward, Sophia's appearances on the big screen came few and far between. She preferred to spend the majority of her time raising two sons.
Jane Fonda was born in 1937 in New York City. Her screen debut in Tall Story (1960) marked the beginning of a highly successful and respected acting career highlighted by two Academy Awards for her performances in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978)) and five additional Oscar nominations. On Golden Pond (1981), was the only film she made with her father, Henry.
Raquel Welch was born in 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. It is unfortunately a fact that what mainly attracted film directors to Raquel Welch wasn't her ability to interpret the greatest dramatic roles, but the incredible pull on the audience she had each time she took on a new role, always scantily dressed. Who will ever forget Raquel Welch emerging from the sea in her purposely depleted, furry prehistoric bikini in 1966 in One Million Years B.C. - tantalizingly wet with her garb clinging to all the right Amazonian places?
Brigitte Bardot was born in 1934 in Paris, France. She had an incredible and sensual beauty and already at the age of 15 she found herself in the French magazine "Elle". Next she tried films and in 1952 her first film followed: Crazy for Love. Following her success in French films, Brigitte made her first American appearance in Act of Love (1953) with Kirk Douglas, but she continued to make films in France. Brigitte's explosive sexuality took the world by storm. She made her last film in 1973. After her life in the spotlight, Brigitte went on to become a leading spokesperson for animal rights and started the "Foundation Brigitte Bardot" dedicated solely to that cause. Her work in that realm is, perhaps, far greater than any film she could have made.
Sharon Stone was born and raised in Meadville, a small town in Pennsylvania. At the age of 17 she won the Miss Pennsylvania beauty contest and from there she worked herself up as a model. She made her acting debut in 1980 and she shot to stardom. Who will ever forget her notorious disinclination to wear underwear during a police interrogation in Basic Instinct? She went on to become one of the most talked about actresses of the '90s, earning both admiration and infamy for her on- and off-screen personae.
Great list for our generation...wonder what the list for this generation might look like...not as good as these :)
select one here...