Robert Redford did it all—he was a theater, TV, and film actor, a director, and a political activist. Some of his biggest roles include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men.
Actor Clark Gable was dubbed "The King of Hollywood," and for good reason, too! His career, which included major hits like Gone With the Wind, spanned almost four decades and 60 motion pictures.
There's not an old Hollywood star that's more iconic than Marilyn Monroe. Though she was only in show business for a decade before her tragic death, her movies grossed more than $2 billion by today's standards!
This is a still from The Painted Veil, featuring Greta Garbo and Soo Yong. The movie told the story of a married woman who falls in love with another man in China after she and her husband move there.
Marlene Dietrich had a career that spanned across multiple eras of Hollywood history. She got her start in silent films in the 1920s and continued working all the way up until the 1980s.
Billie Dove may not be a household name anymore, but she was once a major player in Hollywood. She got her start at the legendary Ziegfeld Follies Revue before moving to Hollywood and appearing in silent films. Her biggest hit was The Black Pirate, released in 1927.
Move over, Marilyn Monroe--Jean Harlow is the original Blonde Bombshell of Hollywood! Though her career was short (like Monroe's), Harlow took Hollywood by storm with memorable roles in films like Red Dust, Dinner at Eight, and Suzy.
Lana Turner's career in Hollywood lasted almost 50 years, and during that time, she was one of the highest-paid stars ever. Major hits from her heyday included The Postman Always Rings Twice, Imitation of Life, and The Bad and the Beautiful.
Although Marilyn Monroe looked picture perfect on screen, her real life wasn't always as rosy. Her two high-profile marriages (and divorces) to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller were frequently the subject of press attention, as was her struggles with addiction.
Greta Garbo wasn't just a hit in the United States--she was wildly popular in her native Sweden as well. This still is taken from the Swedish film The Saga of Gosta Berling, which was Garbo's breakthrough hit.
Audrey Hepburn may be the star of My Fair Lady, but her voice definitely isn't. After it was decided that Hepburn's vocals weren't up to snuff, her singing parts in the film were dubbed by Marni Nixon. However, there are a few short snippets of Hepburn's voice left in the final cut of the movie.
Rita Hayworth was dubbed "The Love Goddess" of Hollywood's Golden Era, and it probably had something to do with her glamorous presence on screen and successful career as a pin-up model. Her most iconic role was in the noir film Gilda, but her other hits included The Lady from Shanghai and You Were Never Lovelier.
You might not know Louise Brooks by name, but you definitely know the style she helped influence. Her iconic bob hairstyle became associated with the Flapper movement in the 1920s. Brooks's career as an actor and dancer was at its peak in the 1920s and '30s.
Elizabeth Taylor starred in an impressive four films in 1954 but audiences still couldn't get enough of her! These films included Beau Brummell (pictured here), Rhapsody, Elephant Walk, and The Last Time I Saw Paris.
Mae West was no stranger to playing sassy, button-pushing characters, which led to more than her fair share of encounters with censorship. However, in true Mae West fashion, she had something funny to say about it: "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it."
In 1935, Greta Garbo starred as the titular character in the adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (pictured here). Interestingly enough, this wasn't the first time she had portrayed the character. She also starred as Anna in a 1927 adaptation known as Love.
Jean Harlow and Clark Gable starred in six films together, and they had some of the best on-screen chemistry in Hollywood history. Their work together began with 1932's Red Dust. Unfortunately, their partnership came to an unexpected end during the filming of 1937's Saratoga when Harlow died from kidney complications.
Veronica Lake is most famous for her string of noir films in the 1940s where she frequently played a femme fatale. These included This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia. Despite her adoring fans, there were rumors that she was notoriously difficult to work with on set.
During the Golden Age of Hollywood, there were several production companies that ruled the town. And Ann Sheridan worked for several of them! Her time as an actress included work for Paramount, Warner Brothers, and Universal.
Elizabeth Taylor was only 16 when this photograph was taken in 1948, but she already had a respectable acting career going by this point! She began working in Hollywood in 1942 and already had eight movie roles under her belt by 1948.
Lillian Gish was one of the biggest names during the silent film era. She worked frequently with pioneering director D.W. Griffith, and she starred in his most successful and controversial film--The Birth of a Nation. While she starred in a few films with sound, they were not nearly as popular as her silent work.
While some actors in the silent film era focused on making a few feature-length films, Betty Compson had a different approach. She got her start in Hollywood by appearing in short film after short film. During the years of 1916 to 1918, she would sometimes appear in upwards of 20 annually!
French actress Renée Adorée made a name for herself in France as a dancer, but eventually that fame translated into movie roles in Hollywood. She became a hit in silent films and was the star of The Big Parade--one MGM's all-time highest grossing silent films.
TIME magazine dubbed Marlon Brando "the Actor of the Century," and we think that's a pretty fitting title. His acting career spans from 1950 until 2004--the year he died. Some of his most memorable roles included Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire and Terry in On the Waterfront.
While Mamie Van Doren had a perfectly acceptable career in Hollywood, she didn't really find fame until she began taking roles where she was cast as the bad girl. Her most iconic role from this era was as Penny Lowe in Untamed Youth.
James Dean had one of the shortest but most influential careers in Hollywood. The brooding bad boy was probably most famous for his starring role in Rebel Without a Cause, but his other hits included East of Eden and Giant. His life and career were cut short by a car accident at age 24.
Ginger Rogers made up one half of Hollywood's most iconic dancing duo. Along with Fred Astaire, Rogers danced and acted her way into the hearts of fans nationwide. Her biggest hits included Top Hat, Swing Time, and The Barkleys of Broadway.
1954's Vera Cruz is not the most memorable Western in history, but at the time, it caused quite a stir--and it would go on to influence future Western directors. Though commonplace in the genre now , the violence and lack of morals from the characters were seen as shocking when it premiered. This still features actors Gary Cooper and Sara Montiel.
Past or present, there aren't many actors as big as Ingrid Bergman. Her career as an actress began in the 1930s and didn't let up for decades. While she's most famous for her role in Casablanca, many of her films and performances went on to recieve universal acclaim.
Merle Oberon got her start in acting in England with films like 1933's The Private Life of King Henry VIII. However, she eventually made her way to America, where she appeared in several Goldwyn films.
