Can You Name These 30 Classic Hollywood Women Who Shaped Modern Female Film Roles?

By: Isadora Teich
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Name These 30 Classic Hollywood Women Who Shaped Modern Female Film Roles?
Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

About This Quiz

Think you are a classic Hollywood expert? Hollywood leading ladies have always been some of the most beautiful, glamorous and iconic women of all time. From their hair to their makeup, to their fashion and style, these women truly had the kinds of faces that would launch a thousand ships. From Bette Davis to Vivien Leigh to Marilyn Monroe, these women defined beauty for generations to come.    

Many of these women starred in iconic and award-winning films that changed the way films were made. Their innovative work both in and out of film sometimes goes underappreciated. Many of these beauties were not only iconic actresses but also inventors, humanitarians, artists and more. There is a lot more to these classic actresses than meets the eye. On top of style and grace, many of these women led fascinating lives full of drama, successes, failures, heartbreaks, twists and turns. You might say many of them led lives full of more glamour and glitz and tragic excess than their many famous films.   

If you are a classic Hollywood expert who knows your famous beauties like the back of your hand, find out if you can see their faces and get it right with this very vintage quiz! 

Marilyn Monroe
20th Century Fox
Can you name this Hollywood beauty?
Marilyn Monroe.
Bette Davis.
Rita Hayworth.
Gloria Swanson.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marilyn Monroe defined the blonde bombshell sex symbol. To this day, she is one of the most famous women who ever lived and people still debate everything from her love life to her personal demons, and even to her death.

Advertisement

Bette Davis
B.F. Zeidman Productions Ltd.
This star was known for her eyes. Can you name her?
Katharine Hepburn.
Ingrid Bergman.
Bette Davis.
Greta Garbo.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Bette Davis was a bonafide star, known for her ability to play complex roles. She wanted to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With The Wind," but she lost out to Vivien Leigh.

Advertisement

Judy Garland
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Do you know the name of the starlet who got lost in Oz?
Judy Garland.
Elizabeth Taylor.
Joan Crawford.
Ginger Rogers.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Judy Garland is famous for both her film roles and her tragic life. She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Minnesota, to a troubled Vaudeville family.

Advertisement

Barbara Stanwyck
United Artists
Can you name this classic TV matriarch?
Shirley Temple.
Judy Garland.
Marilyn Monroe.
Barbara Stanwyck.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Barbara Stanwyck was a film and TV actress, mostly remembered for her role as a mom on the TV Western "The Big Valley." She also acted in film for decades.

Advertisement

Gloria Swanson
Famous Players-Lasky
Do you know this "Sunset Boulevard" star?
Rita Hayworth.
Gloria Swanson.
Sophia Loren.
Judy Garland.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Gloria Swanson was a Chicago-born star who was one of the biggest stars of the silent film era. She later appeared in film and television in a number of roles.

Advertisement

Elizabeth Taylor
20th Century Fox
Do you remember the beauty who walked like an Egyptian?
Ava Gardner.
Hedy Lamarr.
Rita Hayworth.
Elizabeth Taylor.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Elizabeth Taylor was famous for her beauty and violet eyes. She is famous for her role as Cleopatra in the 1963 film. It was one of the most expensive films made up to that point, largely due to her $1 million salary.

Advertisement

Audrey Hepburn
Paramount Pictures
Can you name the star who played Holly Golightly?
Audrey Hepburn.
Lucille Ball.
Tallulah Bankhead.
Lana Turner.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1929. She survived Nazi occupation of the Netherlands as a child, got her start as a model in London, became an iconic actress, and later in life became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund, helping children in Latin America and Africa.

Advertisement

Julie Andrews
Walt Disney Pictures
Can you name this film-star nanny turned Disney Queen?
Donna Reed.
Susan Hayword.
Natalie Wood.
Julie Andrews.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Julie Andrews is known for her iconic film roles as Mary Poppins and also as Maria in "The Sound of Music." She began as a singer in England before breaking into Broadway and then musical films, thanks to her four-octave range.

Advertisement

Sophia Loren
Lux Film
Do you remember the starlet nicknamed "The Italian Marilyn Monroe"?
Mae West.
Lauren Bacall.
Sophia Loren.
Olive Thomas.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sophia Loren is an international film icon, with decades of film work in both Europe and America. She was born in Rome, Italy, in 1934 and began her film career at age 16.

Advertisement

Katherine Hepburn
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Which film icon was known as "the Great Kate"?
Gloria Grahame.
Katharine Hepburn.
Mabel Normand.
Greta Garbo.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Katharine Hepburn was a great talent who still holds the most Oscar wins of any actress. Even though critics and audiences panned her for not playing the game by dressing femininely or taking interviews for a time, her many successes earned her the nickname "First Lady of Cinema."

Advertisement

Ingrid Bergman
Warner Bros.
Do you remember the name of this Swedish beauty?
Ingrid Bergman.
Marilyn Monroe.
Joan Crawford.
Grace Kelly.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ingrid Bergman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1915. She is tied with Meryl Streep for number of Oscar wins, with three. Only Katharine Hepburn has won more than either of them.

Advertisement

Marlene Dietrich
20th Century Fox
Do you remember this film star who was known for wearing men's clothes?
Vivien Leigh.
Lillian Gish.
Marilyn Monroe.
Marlene Dietrich.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dietrich was born in Berlin, Germany. in 1901. She was one of the highest paid actresses of her day and known for androgynous glamorous style and romancing her co-stars and artists.

Advertisement

Jane Fonda
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Henry Fonda was the father of a famous actress with which first name?
Jane.
Wendy.
Sylvia.
Rita.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jane Fonda is the daughter of screen legend Henry Fonda. She was known for her risqué roles and controversial political personal life. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s she championed anti-establishment and anti-war causes.

Advertisement

Lauren Bacall
Universal Pictures
Who co-starred in a film with Marilyn Monroe?
Lauren Bacall.
Mae West.
Shirley Temple.
Greer Garcon.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lauren Bacall's film career spanned over five decades. One of her last roles was voicing the Witch of the Waste in the American dub of Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle."

Advertisement

Shirley Temple
20th Century Fox
Can you name this child star?
Shirley Temple.
Hedy Lamarr.
Doris Day.
Ginger Rogers.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Shirley Temple was the most popular and famous child star of all time. She could sing, dance and act and got her start at only age 3. Her curls were iconic for decades.

Advertisement

Angela Lansbury
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
This vintage beauty voiced a singing teapot. Can you name her?
Angela Lansbury.
Marion Davies.
Marilyn Monroe.
Lena Horne.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Angela Lansbury is a star of TV, stage and film. She earned her first Oscar nod for her first role in the 1944 film "Gaslight," and she gained popular fame in the 1980s on the TV show "Murder She Wrote."

Advertisement

Ava Gardner
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Do you recognize this star who was nicknamed "Snowdrop"?
Sophia Loren.
Ava Gardner.
Marlene Dietrich.
Clara Bow.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ava Gardner was a southern beauty turned cosmopolitan film star. She worked in both the U.S. and Europe and is remembered for her beauty and failed marriages.

Advertisement

Carmen Miranda
Cinédia
Can you name this Brazilian bombshell?
Shirley Temple.
Katharine Hepburn.
Carmen Miranda.
Audrey Hepburn.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Carmen Miranda was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Portugal in 1909. She grew up in Brazil, where she became a singing superstar and later transitioned into film.

Advertisement

Carole Lombard
Selznick International Pictures
Which Hollywood icon was known as "The Queen Of Screwball Comedy"?
Rita Hayworth.
Bette Davis.
Carole Lombard.
Marilyn Monroe.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Carole Lombard went from a successful silent film career to talkies. She was known for her off-beat character roles and platinum blonde hair. She died in a plane crash in her early 30s.

Advertisement

Clara Bow
Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation
Which Hollywood royal defined flapper style?
Clara Bow.
Judy Garland.
Mae West.
Sophia Loren.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Between 1922 and 1933 Clara Bow starred in over 40 silent films and defined flapper style. Despite many considering her to be America's first sex symbol, she lived a tragic life, including attempted murder by her own mother and periods spent in mental hospitals throughout her life.

Advertisement

Doris Day
Paramount Pictures
What is the last name of this actress named Doris?
Day.
Pauletti.
Jean.
Garbo.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Doris Day was a prolific actress who today is an animal rights advocate in California. She acted in numerous films, mostly from the 1940s-1960s.

Advertisement

Ginger Rogers
Monogram Pictures
This starlet danced beside Fred Astaire. Can you name her?
Clara Bow.
Rita Hayworth.
Ginger Rogers.
Elizabeth Taylor.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Ginger Rogers was a sex symbol known for her dancing, sex appeal and iconic mole. She rose to fame after a troubled childhood in Missouri.

Advertisement

Grace Kelly
Paramount Pictures
This film star gave up her career to become a princess. Can you name her?
Grace Kelly.
Marilyn Monroe.
Shirley Temple.
Angela Lansbury.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to wealthy parents in 1929. She acted in numerous films beside Hollywood royalty like Clark Gable, James Stewart and Ava Gardner and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her last film was 1956's "High Society," after which she married the Prince of Monaco.

Advertisement

Hedy Lamarr
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Many consider this actress to be one of the most beautiful women to ever appear on film. Do you know her name?
Clara Bow.
Donna Reed.
Ethel Barrymore.
Hedy Lamarr.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hedy Lamarr was born in 1914 to a Jewish family in Austria. While she is remembered for her good looks and deep seductive voice, she also invented a frequency-hopping system for remotely controlling torpedoes during World War II. Today, this is used for WiFi, Bluetooth and more.

Advertisement

Jean Harlow
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Can you name this famously blonde bombshell?
Jean Harlow.
Judy Garland.
Carmen Miranda.
Elizabeth Taylor.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jean Harlow made a film career after running away from her Missouri home at 16 to Los Angeles with a young businessman she married. She was famous for playing sarcastic and glamorous characters.

Advertisement

Joan Crawford
Warner Bros. Pictures, Seven Arts Productions
Do you remember the actress who starred in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"?
Audrey Hepburn.
Marilyn Monroe.
Joan Crawford.
Julie Andrews.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Joan Crawford had a rough start in Texas and a career full of ups and downs. She became famous for playing characters who suffered heavily.

Advertisement

Kim Novak
Columbia Pictures
This woman gave up on show business after a rocky career. Can you name her?
Kim Novak.
Angela Lansbury.
Julie Andrews.
Grace Kelly.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Kim Novak appeared in many films, like Hitchcock's "Vertigo," which were not appreciated until later or are just considered flops. Known as the Lavender Girl, she is considered to be one of the most beautiful screen sirens of all time and currently raises horses and llamas in Oregon.

Advertisement

Lana Turner
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
This star was married eight times. Do you remember her?
Judy Garland.
Audrey Hepburn.
Marilyn Monroe.
Lana Turner.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lana Turner was a talented actress. However, her management's desire to groom her to be a sex symbol and her tumultuous personal life often overshadowed her talent. A web of addiction, tragic romance, violence and murder surrounded the beauty.

Advertisement

Louise Brooks
Paramount Pictures
Which American actress was disliked in Hollywood but embraced in Europe?
Sophia Loren.
Carmen Miranda.
Louise Brooks.
Ingrid Bergman.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louise Brooks' darker looks did not earn her many friends in Hollywood, even though her bob became the defining haircut of the 1920s. She really came into her own working on German films before leaving the film world in 1938.

Advertisement

Mae West
Paramount Pictures
This actress was also a playwright. Can you name her?
Mae West.
Rita Hayworth.
Marilyn Monroe.
Marlene Dietrich.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mae West was a theater actor and playwright turned film star who more than turned heads. A play she wrote, called "SEX," once landed her in jail for over a week on obscenity charges. She was born into a family of Vaudeville actors.

Advertisement

You Got:
/30
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer