Mae West
Mae West was a pioneer in the days before feminism as we know it. She was the daughter of a lingerie model and a prize fighter, and her persona can be interpreted as a mix of both: sexy, feminine, strong, and tough. An entirely self-made institution, she crafted her risqué screen image, penned her own scripts, and wrote her own hilarious witticisms. Every subsequent bodacious blonde bombshell with attitude, from Jayne Mansfield to Debbie Harry, owes a debt to the magnificent Mae.
Dynamic Dames
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo was awe-inspiring. Not just because of her sublime talent, looks, and camera presence, but because she was one of the few stars that called Hollywood’s bluff. Those male moguls who ran the studios often threw their weight around to keep actresses in line. When MGM head Louis B. Mayer threatened Garbo with punishment for her refusal of roles, she simply said, “I think I’ll go home now,” meaning back to Sweden. She wasn’t intimidated. As one of the top stars in the world, she held the cards.
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck started as a disadvantaged orphan and became a major Hollywood star. In her sixty-year screen career, she played women who were slightly naughty (like the delightful Jean in The Lady Eve), women who were very naughty (like the wily Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity), and every shade of grey in between. And she played the hell out of them. The reason didn’t win more Oscars was because she made it look so easy. She poured her heart into every role, often elevating the material with her performances—performances that remain just as powerful today.
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was not only a great beauty and a great actress, she was literally the only female director in 1950s Hollywood. She never wanted any credit as a feminist, but there should be a monument to her. It took substantial courage to walk on a movie set and call the shots to an all-male crew when that simply wasn’t done. Before she became a filmmaker, she was a steadily working leading lady and a Lieutenant in charge of emergency air raid ambulances during World War II. Ida was a powerhouse.
Dorothy Dandridge
When I see Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, I can’t help but contemplate what a huge star she would be today, with her potent combination of talent and sex appeal. But she was born into the wrong time. Though she did make impressive strides as the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, too large a portion of 1950s America refused to accept a leading lady of African descent, and her destiny went largely unfulfilled. Maybe that’s why I felt she belongs front and center on the cover of my book.
Natalie Wood
Because her career has regrettably been overshadowed by the tabloid circus surrounding her death, people forget what a luminary Natalie Wood was, and what a skilled performer. By her twenty-fifth birthday, she had been nominated for three Oscars. Natalie was also seriously devoted to her career. In the 1960s, when she was the top star at Warner Bros., she negotiated deals that gave her incredible power. She fought the studio for better roles, and won. This was a woman in control of her screen image.
Pam Grier
On a primal level, there is something so satisfying about watching vigilante characters exact revenge on those that have wronged them. In her early ’70s movies like Coffy and Foxy Brown, Pam Grier embodied pure confidence, attitude, and street smarts. She was really the only woman playing vigilantes at that time; it was Pam Grier, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Lee Marvin. Pam not only played tough survivors, she’s a real-life survivor who is still making movies today.
Sloan De Forest is the author of Dynamic Dames: 50 Leading Ladies Who Made History (£16.99, Running Press).