The top five Hollywood actresses

The top five Hollywood actresses from the first century of cinema, according to AFI, ‘The American Film Institute’, are, (1) Katharine Hepburn, (2) Bette Davis, (3) Audrey Hepburn, (4) Ingrid Bergman, and (5) Greta Garbo. We all have our own opinions on the matter, and we all have those that we think are the top five Hollywood actresses.

But what is so interesting about these five is that only two are American, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Audrey Hepburn was Belgian born, and considered herself to be both Dutch, like her mother, who was a Dutch baroness, and British, like her father, although she is often identified in publications as simply British. Then Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo were both Swedish.

Many of the men who started Hollywood came from Europe and Canada, so many of the directors were and still are foreign born, so many of the anglophone players in Hollywood were and still are British or from the British Commonwealth, and even “America’s Sweetheart”, Mary Pickford, was a Canadian. And it continues to this day. There is no more iconic modern Americana than Barbie and Ken, and Hollywood cast an Australian as Barbie and a Canadian as Ken. Hollywood has always been, and continues to be, a very colourful and diverse international enterprise. And I believe that’s what makes Hollywood so great.