Ah the 1970s, what an era. Change was occurring, it was no longer the 1960s where it was still rather radical to be breaking out of the suit and the short-back-and-sides haircut, or challenging gender roles, challenging the establishment, keeping things flowing, such as hair and flowery pants, but with a new defiance. This was a decade of political change, of video games, of rock music taking off, of more empowering women on our screens. Now we have decided to take a look back at some of the female stars who most stood out from this unforgettable decade, from musicians to athletes, we put together a little overview of their careers, where they might be now, and what they contributed to the ‘70s.
Linda Ronstadt
Otherwise known as “First Lady of Rock” or the “Queen of Rock”, Linda Ronstadt was the top of her game in the 1970s. She first performed in the same place Elton John got his big break, in the Troubadour in West Hollywood, and that was just the beginning. From that point on Ronstadt went on to bag herself no less than ten Grammys and more than thirty gold and platinum records across her long career. She released her final full album in 2004, and performed her last live concert in 2009. In 2011 Ronstadt discovered she had progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative condition that also affects her singing, and she retired from music but continues public speaking. In 2013, Ronstadt published her memoir all about her experiences in the spotlight, called Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir
Linda Ronstadt
Pam Grier
Pam Grier really became a star in the 1970s where she starred in a line of roles in action-type films. The Big Doll House came out in 1971 and The Bird Cage in 1972. During the filming of the latter film, which was filmed in the Philippines, Grier contracted a fierce tropical disease that actually took her nearly a year to recover from! Thankfully she did though, and in the film Coffy, released just one year later in 1973, Grier was given a glowing review by film critic Roger Ebert, who said that she possessed a kind of ‘physical life’ that many other attractive actresses lack. In August 1975, Grier became the first black woman to appear on the cover of MS Magazine.Grier was diagnosed with cancer in 1988 and told to not expect to live longer than 18 months, but she had vigorous treatments and changed her lifestyle and managed to outlive the odds, and is still doing well today.
Pam Grier
Linda Gray
Linda Grey started her career in the 1960s mostly modeling and doing television commercials, close to 400 of them! That was also the start of her acting career. She then had a number of guest roles on television series at the start of the 1970s, before she signed with Universal Studios in 1974, and began appearing in films too. In 1978, Gray was cast for a recurring guest role in the first five-episode series of Dallas. As we all know, the show was a hit, and Gray continued playing the role of Sue Ellen Ewing until 1989, a role which earned Gray a number of nominations for awards. After Dallas, Gray starred in the film Oscar with Sylvester Stallone, and has had various roles since, as well as in the West End theater in London.
Linda Gray
Kate Jackson
Kate Jackson started her career in the late 1960s, and landed her first major roles in television during the first half of the 1970s with Dark Shadows and The Rookies, as well as some film roles too. She continued acting, and really made an unforgettable mark with her role as the stunning crime-fighting Sabrina Duncan in Charlie’s Angels. Jackson was also nominated for the Golden Globe four times and for the Emmys three times! Until about 2009, Jackson was still working in the film and television industry, and is expected to publish a memoir this year.
Kate Jackson
Ali MacGraw
Ali MacGraw appeared in television commercials until she caught the attention of Hollywood, with her role in Goodbye Columbus in 1969, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer in the same year. In the 70s, MacGraw really gained recognition for her place on our screens, especially since she starred opposite Ryan O’Neal in Love Story as Jenny. Actually, she more recently reunited with O’Neal, her former co-star, in a stage production called Love Letters.
Ali MacGraw
Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger started her modeling career when she was offered a contract by Ford Models on the spot. She soon became a top model, earning $1000 a day, quickly becoming one of the most well-known models of the 1970s. In the second half of the 1970s, Basinger turned her hand to acting, and started appearing in television shows such as Charlie’s Angels. Two of the most memorable moments of Basinger on screen are her 1983 role as the Bond Girl in the movie Never Say Never Again, and in L.A. Confidential in 1997, which she won an Oscar for.
Kim Basinger
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is the tennis legend who made history, and for more than one reason. King was a passionate advocate for gender equality, and was central in getting major companies to sponsor female sports. In 1973, a year when women were still struggling to be treated as equals to their male counterparts, King won a famous tennis match against Bobby Riggs, a match which became known as “The Battle of the Sexes”. The match was so impactful and powerful for women, tennis, and for sport in general, that a film was made starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean in 2017.
Billie Jean King
Ann Margret
Ann-Margret began her showbiz career as a dancer, singer and actress, but really singing was her first focus. She was even billed initially as the female Elvis Presley, because of her sultry, vibrant contralto voice. But when she was just 22 years old, she soon broke onto the big screen with her role as Kim McAfee in the 1963 film, Bye Bye Birdie. Since then she has won five Golden Globe Awards, been nominated for two Grammys, two Academy Awards, and countless others, and is still acting today.
Ann Margret
Alison Arngrim
Alison Arngrim first came into the spotlight at the tender age of just 12, when she played Nellie in Little House on the Prairie, but coming from a family of actors the showbiz world was not entirely alien to her even then. Arngrim continued to act after Little House on the Prairie came to end, appearing in countless films and television shows, before she turned to stand-up comedy. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated, is the title of the hilarious memoir she published, and today she focuses mainly on her philanthropy.
Alison Arngrim
Teri Garr
Teri Garr is another woman of many talents. The actress, singer, comedian, and dancer got her first real speaking role in a role in a Star Trek episode, but got her real film break when she starred opposite Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein, as well as in Tootsie and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and many more after that, bagging herself more than 140 television and film credits to her name, and numerous award nominations. In 2002, Garr was sadly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), and speaks about the experience publically in order to help others experiencing the same condition. Despite the diagnosis, Garr continued to work on film and on stage for a number of years, and had her last role in television in 2011. She also wrote a witty autobiography of her experiences in Hollywood and with MS.
Teri Garr
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson began her career as a model, until she began acting in the late 1950s. But it was in 1972, when Tyson got nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Sounder, that everyone could agree that Tyson was a force to be reckoned with, a feeling which only received more consensus in 1974 when she won two Emmys for her performance as the 110-year-old former slave in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Tyson also became known for not taking roles that stereotyped black women or portrayed them negatively, as was far too common in Hollywood of the 1970s. Cicely Tyson was still active in the industry up until she died at the age of 69 in early 2021.
Cicely Tyson
Charlene Tilton
Charlene Tilton is another star from the 1970s who became a household name thanks to her role as Lucy Ewing in Dallas. After the show, Tilton continued to act, but also tried her hand at singing too, releasing ‘C’est La Vie’ in 1984, a single that became a hit in numerous countries in Europe. In recent years, Tilton turned her focus to becoming an advocate for autism awareness with the role of ambassador for the organization Actors with Autism, which leads acting and improvisation workshops for young people with autism.
Charlene Tilton
Loretta Swit
Anybody who grew up with a television in the 1970s knows M*A*S*H, the hit war comedy-drama television series, and in which case, most certainly remembers Major Margaret, played by Loretta Swit. Not everybody knows that before Swit began acting in front of the camera, she had actually been acting for a number of years already in theater. Swit also received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989.
Loretta Swit
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell is one of the most famous American country music artists, as well as actress, of the 1970s and 1980s, and even hosted her own show on NBC, that aired on prime time, and really gave her career the boost she deserved. Mandrell achieved many awards over her music career, but gave her final live concert performance in 1997. In 2009, Mandrell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame for her contributions to country music over the years.
Barbara Mandrell
Maureen McCormick
Everyone who watched television in the 1970s will remember The Brady Bunch and have a special part of their heart saved for the show. McCormick, of course, will always be remembered for playing Marcia Brady, when she really demonstrated her talents. But the Brady Bunch was by no means the end of the line for McCormick, who also dabbled in theater, playing Rizzo in Grease on Broadway for example. More recently, McCormick has also appeared in a number of reality television shows such as Dancing with the Stars and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Maureen McCormick
Linda Evans
Linda Evans became a prominent actress thanks to her role as Audra Barkley in The Big Valley which aired between 1965 and 1969. Growing up in Hollywood, Evans says she actually took acting lessons as a method for ‘curing her shyness’ – it seems to have worked! Throughout the 1970s, Evans appeared in countless television shows, until she was cast in the soap opera Dynasty, a role for which she also won a Golden Globe for. A little fun fact not many people know, Evans was actually recruited by her then-husband, John Derek, to operate one of the cameras filming Evel Knievel doing his daredevil jump, and Evans captured some of the iconic images of the devastating crash.
Linda Evans
Loni Anderson
Loni Anderson made it big when she got the role on WKRP in Cincinnati, as Jennifer in 1978, a role which earned her three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy nominations. Since then, she rose to fame pretty quickly, being in demand for many films and television shows. Anderson also created waves, making a name for herself as a revolutionary woman in the entertainment industry at the time, when she demanded to be paid more for the shows that she did.
Loni Anderson
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren is a name that everyone immediately equates with beauty, elegance, and talent. Loren was only 16 years old when she began her acting career back in 1950, and launched her international career just 6 years later when she landed a five-picture acting contract with Paramount and earned herself an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in 1961 film Two Women. That win also made her the first actor to win an Oscar for a forgein language performance. Since then, Loren went on to win a long list of prominent awards for her acting performances, and it was during the 1970s that she really became an international star.
Sophia Loren
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour is another actress who graced our screens a lot in the 1970s. She hit fame with her role in Live and Let Die as Solitaire, and later became a household name with her role as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Seymour has since had many acting roles and is still acting today, most recently in the brilliant series The Kominsky Method. Alongside her acting, Seymour also writes self-help, inspirational books, as well as is an activist for children who have been neglected or abused. In 2018, Seymour even became the oldest woman to pose for Playboy magazine, at 67 years old. In the interview she not only showed that older ladies can still be rocking it, but also brought attention to the sexual harassment that ran rampant in the film industry in the ‘70s.
Jane Seymour
Debbie Harry
Born Angela Tremble, but much better known as Debbie Harry, the rockstar leadsinger beauty of the hit 1970s group, Blondie. The band released their 1st album in 1976 and immediately became a smash hit. The band actually then took a 15 year break, and began recording again only in 1997, but the band still performs together today as well as releasing new music, with their most recent being released in 2017. Harry credits Elton John for her inspiration to become more of an activist, saying “After witnessing Elton John and his tireless efforts against AIDS. These are the most important things to my life now. I feel I have the privilege of being able to get involved. I applaud people like Elton, who have used their position to do such great things.”
Debbie Harry
Diane Keaton
Diane Keatonbegan her acting career in theater, and entered the world of film as the ‘70s were ushered in, when she made her on-screen debut in 1970 with Lovers and Other Strangers, and in 1972 Keaton rose to fame with her role as Kay in The Godfather, a role she reprised in its two sequels too. That, along with three major films she did with Woody Allen in the first half of the 1970s, really established her film career, and it was the Allen films that gave her status as a comedic actress. She also won an Oscar for her role in Annie Hall, and has since been nominated for and won numerous awards. This multi-talented woman still acts today, as well as spends her time as a photographer, an author, a singer, and a real estate developer.
Diane Keaton
Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek is a singer and actress who has been the recipient of numerous awards for her vast body of work in the entertainment industry. Spacek achieved real recognition after her role in Badlands and for her performance as the title role in the horror movie Carrie. In the 1980s Spacek also released a number of singles and an album. Spacek has been acting pretty steadily ever since, both in television and in film.
Sissy Spacek
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway began her acting career on the stage on Broadway, but towards the end of the 1960s Dunaway was already becoming an on-screen sensation. In 1967, Dunaway landed her first film role in The Happening, and later the same year also appeared as Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde. The latter role really propelled Dunaway into the limelight, as well as earning her an Oscar. Dunaway has continued to act ever since, appearing in countless films and television roles.
Faye Dunaway
Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews is really one of those stars that simply doesn’t need an introduction. This English actress began acting as a child in the West End theaters in London, which was where she first showcased her incredible musical and acting talents in a number of musicals. Andrews’ feature film debut was as Mary Poppins for which she won the Academy Award, and a year later, in 1965, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in The Sound of Music. Since then, Andrews has won herself countless awards, and really carved out a special place for herself not just in the industry, but in people’s hearts too.
Julie Andrews
Beverly Johnson
Beverly Johnson is the American supermodel who made history when she appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in 1974 and on the French edition of Elle in 1975, making her the first black American to appear on their covers. Johnson’s career has also included singing and acting, and she has also featured in a number of reality television shows. In recent years she has also spoken up about being drugged by Bill Crosby in the 1980s and about various eating disorders rife in the fashion industry.
Beverly Johnson
Karen Lynn Gorney
Karen Lynn Gorney will always be remembered for playing Stephanie opposite John Travolta in the hit film Saturday Night Fever, or otherwise, you will remember her for her role on All My Children as Tara Martin. During the 1980s, Gorney took a little break from the industry, and returned in the 1990s with many roles in television, such as in Law and Order and The Sopranos, and is still acting today.
Karen Lynn Gorney
Lorraine Gary
Lorraine Gary’s name became famous for her role in the hit Spielberg film, Jaws. Though soon after Gary decided to withdraw from acting, she did return to act in the sequel movie, Jaws: The Revenge. Nowadays, Gary is mostly occupied with charity work with organizations such as the Human Rights Watch Africa Advisory Committee and the Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Advisory Committee.
Lorraine Gary
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn has been acting since the 1950s, but the 1970s was really a sensational decade for Burstyn on all accounts. That was the decade she really became a critically acclaimed star with her highly acclaimed roles in the 1971 film, The Last Picture Show and The Exorcist in 1973. This was shortly followed by winning an Academy Award for her role as Alice in the Martin Scorsese film, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Burstyn has not stopped acting ever since, and is one of the few living actors to have won what is known as the Triple Crown of Acting, an Emmy, and Oscar, and a Tony. Impressive!
Ellen Burstyn
Meryl Streep
Ah another absolute living legend. Meryl Streep began her acting career in theater, and made it onto screen with her role in Deadliest Season in 1977. After that, it wasn’t long before she won herself an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance in Kramer vs Kramer, since which she has only gone on to become one of the most decorated actors in Hollywood. Streep has actually been nominated for more Oscars than any other actor in the industry has!
Meryl Streep
Marilu Henner
In 1977, Marilu Henner featured in her first film in Between the Lines, and in 1978 she had her second film role opposite Richard Gere in Bloodbrothers, before her on-screen debut she had been acting on Broadway, where she actually had a role in the original cast of the musical Grease, and a few roles alongside a then-unknown John Travolta too. But it was her being cast as Elaine O’Connor Nardo in the sitcom Taxi in 1977, where she really made her mark. Henner was nominated for five Golden Globe nominations for this role!
Marilu Henner
Carol Kane
Carol Kane reached fame when she received high acclaim in 1975 for her role in Hester Street as Gitl, a performance which also led her to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Kane also acted in Taxi in the early 1980s, and won two Emmy Awards for her work as Simka Gravas on the show. Since then she has acted in a long list of films and numerous television appearances. Most recently, she is again much loved for her role as Lillian in the comedy series The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Carol Kane
Talia Shire
Talia Shire is most well known for her roles as Connie Carleone in The Godfather trilogy and as Adrian Balboa in Rocky, opposite Sylvester Stallone, in the Rocky films. Shire impressed people so much with her performances in these films that she earned herself nominations for Academy Awards for both roles. Shire is still acting today, appearing in films such as Dreamland and Working Man, and series such as Grace and Frankie.
Talia Shire
Diana Ross
Diana Ross is an unforgettable name, whose music left its mark on many generations after her glory days. Ross rose to fame during the 1960s, when she was the lead singer of Motown’s most successful vocal act and one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time, The Supremes. In 1970, Ross left The Supremes to make it as a solo artist, which turned out to be a groundbreaking success, and she has a career in television, film and theater as well as music. In 1976, Billboard named Ross as the Female Entertainer of the Century, and since then she has gone on to have a phenomenally successful career, and still performs to this day. In 2016, The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2016, President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ross.
Diana Ross
Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn was actually discovered for her breakthrough role when producers and actress from the show The Facts of Life visited her high school in Holmby Hills, California, for research. Cohn was soon cast as Natalie Green in the show, and played the character for its full run from 1979 until 1988. After that, Cohn continued to act, and also did voice acting, becoming the voice of Velma for the Scooby-Doo franchise. Cohn is also a strong supporter and advocate for the LGBT community.
Mindy Cohn
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd rolled onto our screen in 1971 with her role in The Last Picture Show. Her performance in the film led her to land more roles in films such as in The Heartbreak Kid in 1972, and in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver in 1976 as Betsy. Shepherd has also acted in theater, and has also done numerous television shows such as The L Word and Psych. Shepherd has always been an outspoken activist for gay rights and abortion rights, and was awarded a National Ally for Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign in Atlanta
Cybill Shepherd
Agnetha Faltskog
Agnetha Faltskog is one part of the foursome that was the sensational Swedish pop hit group, ABBA. The group reached critical acclaim and international success across Europe and in America during the 1970s. The group formed in 1972 and over the coming decade they had hits that were hummed across the world, such as Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, and Waterloo which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974. Sadly, the group split in the 1980s, but reunited in 2018 to release new music, exciting fans world over. Falskog also had a solo career for a while, and in 2016 she published her autobiography.
Agnetha Faltskog
Carly Simon
In 1971, Carly Simon released her first album with hits such as That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be, and only a few months later, Simon released her second album as well. In 1972, Carly Simon really put her name on the map when she released her hit song, You’re So Vain that instantly became a smash hit. In 2015, Simon wrote and published her memoirs, and still performs today, performing with Taylor Swift on her Red Tour for example.
Carly Simon
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver had her on-screen breakthrough towards the end of the 1970s, before which she had primarily done theater work and some commercials and television roles. Her breakthrough came with her role in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster movie Alien in 1979, a role which she reprised in three sequels too. Since then she has had countless roles in film and in television, and has been nominated for and won endless prestigious awards.
Sigourney Weaver
Catherine Bach
Catherine Bach actually first appeared on our screens with her role as part of the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music, but it was her role as the iconic Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard, which really got her name in people’s minds. Interestingly, while she was filming the show, her legs (yes, this is the 1970s, and yes, her legs) were insured for a knock-out $1,000,000! Unbelievable! Bach has been acting ever since, and has a recurring role as Anita Lawson on The Young and the Restless since 2012.
Catherine Bach
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall’s career began in the 1970s when she took a number of roles in Robert Altman films such as Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974), Nashville (1975), and 3 Women (1977). In the following decade Duvall took on leading roles in movies such as Popeye and The Shining, the latter an experience that she has spoken about as traumatic, as well as the exploitation she experienced in Hollywood. Duvall did some more acting between 2000 and 2002, but has mainly stayed out of the limelight since then.
Shelley Duvall
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman began her career in Hollywood in the 1970s, when she first appeared in The Last Picture Show in 1971 – a role which Leachman won an Academy Award and a BAFTA for! Leachman went on to establish quite a long-lasting career for herself in Hollywood, and has received many accolades since. Leachman has just appeared in Not to Forget (2021) as her final role at 94 years old! Definitely, a force to be reckoned with
Cloris Leachman
Jodi Foster
Jodi Foster actually began her career in the limelight when she was just three years old as a child model, and only about 3 years later, she had her acting debut in the television sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. Foster continued to act in television and film, but got her real breakthrough when she starred in Martin Scorsese’s film, Taxi Driver, as a child prostitute in 1976. In the 80’s the industry struggled slightly to accept Foster in adult roles, until her unforgettable performance in The Accused in 1988, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won her second Academy Award for Silence of the Lambs just three years later. Foster has been providing us with incredible performances ever since.
Jodi Foster
Rene Russo
Rene Russo is one of the most well-known models of the 1970s, when she appeared on covers of magazines such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Russo turned her hand to acting in the ‘80s, and in the ‘90s she really gained international recognition for her work in films such as Lethal Weapon 3 and 4, Get Shorty, and The Thomas Crown Affair, and many more after that. Russo is still rocking it in movies today at 67!
Rene Russo
Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren is seen as quite a national treasure in the United Kingdom, gaining the ultimate recognition as such when she was appointed Dame for her services to drama in 2003. When Mirren was just 18 she auditioned for the National Youth Theater and was accepted, a move which would lead to her being signed to an agent, and was soon invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. The theater was surely Mirren’s greatest love, but she also began doing film simultaneously in the late 1960s, with her real on-screen breakthrough in 1980 with The Long Good Friday. Since then Mirren has built up a seriously impressive acting career, being the only person to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting in both the US and the UK.
Helen Mirren
Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz began her acting career as a child actor in the 1970s, but made her film debut in 1981 with the romantic drama Endless Love. That was soon followed by Gertz landing the co-starring role on the sitcom Square Pegs which aired in 1982 and 1983. Since then, Gertz has had many more acting roles, one of the most memorable being Kimmy in Ally McBeal. Today Gertz focuses more on philanthropy than acting, but still does the occasional role for television and film.
Jami Gertz
Karen Allen
Film and stage actress Keren Allen began her career in theatre and made her film debut in 1978 with National Lampoon’s Animal House. In the following years she had a number of important roles but the part that really changed her career was when she played Marion opposite Harrison Ford in the blockbuster movie Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981. Allen has since acted in countless movies, as well as turning her hand to directing in 2016, winning Best International Short Film for her craft at the Manchester Film Festival in 2017.
Karen Allen
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow began her career as a model as a way to support her family after her father’s death when she was just 17. She soon began acting in supporting roles in a number of films, until she landed her first leading role in Roman Polanski’s psychological horror film, Rosemary’s Babies in 1968. Her performance in the film really put Farrow on the map, winning awards and establishing her as a leading actress. In the 1970s, Farrow worked her way up as a leading theater actress too, and ever since has acted in countless films, theater productions, and television shows.
Mia Farrow
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly was born at the very start of the decade in 1970, and already as a child she modeled for many magazines, newspapers and television commercials. When she was 14 Connolly had her first acting role in Once Upon a Time in America, and continued acting and modeling ever since. Since then Connolly has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind.
Jennifer Connelly
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer began her acting career with some small television roles in the late 1970s, until she got her first leading role in 1982 in the sequel to the hit musical film Grease. Pfeiffer actively began looking for more serious roles as she was tired of being typecast for roles based on her looks, which led to her role in Scarface as Elvira Hancock. Pfeiffer has acted in many hit movies since, as well as producing, and established herself as one of the most well-known faces in Hollywood today.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Diane Lane
Diane Lane’s family was involved in the entertainment industry long before she was born, her mother being a model and her father an acting coach. Lane made her acting debut with a leading role at just 13/14 years old in A Little Romance in 1979. Since then, Lane has not stopped acting, appearing in many notable films such as The Outsiders, as well as in television series such as House of Cards, and in a number of theater productions too.
Diane Lane
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh began her acting career in the 1970s, appearing in her first film when she was only 9 years old, and landed her first major breakthrough role when she was 19 in The Best Little Girl in the World in 1981, and her first big-screen role in the same year in the Eyes of a Stranger. In 1982 Leigh was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, a role which she really shined in, and Leigh quickly became a sought-out actor, and has been active ever since.
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski is a German actress and model who began working as a teenager in the industry in Germany. Kinski received international acclaim with her breakthrough role in Stay as You Are in 1978, and soon achieved global prominence in 1979 as Tess in the Polanski film of the same name, a performance which also earned her a Golden Globe Award. Since then, Kinski has continued to star in numerous movies both in Germany and in the United States.
Nastassja Kinski
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton hardly needs an introduction, but for the sake of formality, then Dolly Parton is one of the best selling country artists of all time, and has received gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards for her music, as well as countless others such as ten Grammys and a Lifetime Achievement Award, amongst many others. Parton achievements are seriously impressive, one of which is being one of only 7 female artists to win the CMAE (Country Music Association’s Entertainer) of the Year Award.
Dolly Parton
Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton was actually dismissed at first by modeling agents because of the noticeable gap in her front teeth, little did they know then that this would be her trademark with which she managed to redefine beauty standards to some extent too. Hutton signed a contract with Revlon in 1973 that was the biggest contract in modeling history at the time, and stayed with them for the next ten years. Hutton then went on to develop her acting career in both film and television, and still acts and models today in her late 70s!
Lauren Hutton
Jacqueline Bisset
English actress Jacqueline Bisset began her film career in 1965 and first received real recognition for her role in The Detective opposite Frank Sinatra in 1968, as well as Bullitt and The Sweet Ride, the latter also earning her a Golden Globe nomination for most promising newcomer. In the 1970s Bisset appeared in nearly twenty movies, and has appeared in many more since then, receiving countless nominations for awards too.
Jacqueline Bisset
Dawn Wells
Dawn Wells had various supporting or guest roles until she took the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island in 1964 which became her signature role for a while. Since then, Well’s has worked on a number of films and other television shows but her main focus was theater, and spent most of the 1970 and 1980s touring with theater productions, and appeared in about one hundred theater productions over the years. Wells was also an enthusiastic activist for a number of humanitarian causes. Sadly Dawn Wells passed away in 2020 at the age of 82.
Dawn Wells
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John’s name is somewhat synonymous with Sandy from the hit musical film that was adapted from Broadway, Grease that came out in 1978. No one can forget her and John Travolta in that movie. After that, Newton-John continued to act but focused more on her musical career, and has won a Grammy four times, amongst a number of other accolades such as two Platinum singles, two Platinum albums and four multi-Platinum albums, just to mention some!
Olivia Newton John
Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley actually first appeared on television as a contestant on the game show Match Game in 1979, where she won both rounds. In 1982, Alley made her film debut with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, after which she acted in a number of movies until she joined the cast of Cheers in 1987 and stayed with the show until its eleventh and final series. Since then, Alley has continued to act and has also won two Emmy Awards.
Kirstie Alley
Erin Murphy
Erin Murphy is best known from her role as Tabitha in the hit series Bewitched, which she held from the show’s third season in 1966 until its final season in 1972. She actually shared the role with her twin sister, Diane, for the first 18 episodes, but as they grew older and looked less alike, Erin was the sole actress for the role. Since then Murphy has had a number of on-screen roles, and also modeled for a few commercials, as well as tried her hand at quite a number of other fields such as being an acting coach, a stylist, makeup artist, motivational speaker, and a casting director. She is also active in raising awareness for autism.
Erin Murphy
Susan Anton
Susan Anton began her career as beauty contestant winner and then as a model in 1976, when she developed a following after appearing in Muriel Cigar commercials, where she also sang. Following that, Anton appeared about 30 times on Merv Griffin’s television show in the ‘70s, and towards the end of the decade she was given her own shows to host, and in 1979, Time Magazine named her one of the Most Promising Faces of the year.
Susan Anton
Traci Lords
Traci Lords had a somewhat unconventional introduction into the mainstream center stage of film and television, as she actually began her rise to fame in the adult film industry, however, the FBI received an anonymous tip that she was underage while performing in those films. This resulted in the ruling that all such material, except her final adult film, was de facto illegal to distribute or view, as well as the prosecution of those responsible for creating and distributing the films. Not long after, and only two days after turning 18, Lords decided to study method acting to become a mainstream actress, and not long after she landed a leading role in Not of this Earth in 1988. Lords still acts today as well as sings professionally, and has received many awards and recognition for her work.
Traci Lords
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda was born into Hollywood royalty, being the daughter of Henry Fonda. She made her first theater appearance in 1960 on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for the part. In the same year, she also made her on-screen debut with Tall Story. She quickly rose to fame, with countless more movies in the coming years, and won two Oscars in the 1970s, one for Klute and the other for Coming Home. Fonda has also been a vocal political activist, protesting against the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and violence against women, as well as campaigning for environmental issues.
Jane Fonda
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah made her film debut in the hit horror movie The Fury in 1979, and in the 1980s Hannah’s career really took off, appearing in films such as Blade Runner (1982), and Summer Lovers in the same year, and Splash opposite Tom Hanks in 1984, amongst many others. One of Hannah’s most memorable roles of all times is when she played Elle Driver, the one-eyed assassin in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill that came out in 2003. Hannah is still acting today, both in film, television, and in theater.
Daryl Hannah
Barbi Benton
Barbi Benton began her modeling career when she was just 16 years old, and at 18 took a job with Playboy for their entertainment show, where she started as an extra, but host Hugh Hefner soon fell in love with her and she was elevated to co-host. During the 1970s, Benton also released a number of albums, which did relatively well, as well as acting in a number of films and television shows, mostly until the end of the 1980s.
Barbi Benton
Susan Dey
Susan Dey also began her career as a model before she got the role of Laurie Partridge on The Partridge Family, a role she got when she was only 17 years old and with no prior acting experience. The successful show aired for four years between 1970 and 1974. After that, Dey moved on to film for a bit, before returning to television where she has starred in a number of shows such as L.A. Law, a role which she also won a Golden Globe Award for!
Susan Dey
Lola Falana
Lola Falana actually got her first gig as a dancer when she was only sixteen years old, given to her by the notorious Queen of Blues, Dinah Washington, who was extremely influential in fostering Falana’s career. Even more influential was Sammy Davis Jr, who she was not only a chorus girl for but who also cast Falana in her first film role in A Man Called Adam in 1966. In 1970 Falana decided to break away from Davis Jr. because she wanted to make a name for herself on her own, and she soon got her first American film debut in the Liberation of L.B. Falana has since had a very successful career, but since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1987, she stopped performing two years later.
Lola Falana
Jaclyn Smith
When you think of Jaclyn Smith it is impossible not to immediately imagine her as Kelly Garret, the fabulous action crime fighter from the television show Charlie’s Angels, a role she held from 1976 until the show ended in 1981. Smith was actually one of the only original cast members to remain with the show for its entirety. Although Smith continued acting after the show ended, she began developing and marketing her own clothing and perfume brands in the 1980s, making her one of the first celebrities to do so!
Jaclyn Smith
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley rose to fame, receiving international recognition, in the late 1970s when she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, appearing on three consecutive covers, an unprecedented occurrence. Since then Brinkley’s modeling career really took off, and today she has appeared on over 500 magazine covers. Since then she has acted in numerous television shows and in film, and turns out she is also quite a savvy businesswomen.
Christie Brinkley
Victoria Principal
Victoria Principal moved to Hollywood in 1970 and landed her first significant movie role in 1972 opposite Paul Newman in The Life and Times a role for which she earned a nomination for Golden Globe for the Most Promising Newcomer. She had a number of other roles until she decided to leave the spotlight and become a talent agent in 1975, which she did until 1977. She had planned to go to Law school, until the script for Dallas was given to her as a casting agent. After she read the script she decided she had to have the part, and she got it, starring in the much-loved show between 1978 and 1987. Today, Principal still acts but mostly focuses on her philanthropic work.
Victoria Principal
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild stareted her acting career in the 1970s, when she appeared on Search for Tomorrow, the long-running CBS daytime soap opera as Jennifer Pace, a role she held from 1973 until 1977. In the year after leaving the show, Fairchild had a role in Dallas before taking a lead role in Flamingo Road in 1980, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Fairchild has been acting steadily in both film and television ever since.
Morgan Fairchild
Charo
Charo is the Spanish American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist, who became a familiar face on American television during the late 1960 and the 1970s, frequently featuring as a guest star on many hit series. Charo actually began performing as a child, learning to play the guitar when she was only 9, training under the famous musician, Andres Segova. Charo is still in showbiz and has done a bit of reality TV in recent years.
Charo
Paula Prentiss
Paula Prentiss was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while she was at college, and shot to fame in 1960 with the film Where the Boys Are opposite Jim Hutton. The on-screen partnership was seen to be so successful that they were quickly recast together in a number of other films together. After a short break, Prentiss returned to Hollywood in 1970 with roles in Catch-22 and Move. Prentiss continued acting until the mid 1980s, with only a few cameo roles since.
Paula Prentiss
Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter actually dropped out of university to become a singer, and then decided to pursue acting. When she was crowned Miss World USA in 1972 she began to receive national attention but she soon became more and more widely known for her star role as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman in the action TV series of the same name that initially aired on ABC and later on CBS between 1975 and 1979. Carter has also continued to pursue her musical interests since then
Lynda Carter
Joanna Cameron
Joanna Cameron actually came into acting through being close friends with Bob Hope’s daughter. He then cast her in the 1969 film How to Commit Marriage, which led her to being offered a number of film and television roles throughout the ‘70s. Cameron is probably most well known for playing Isis in the children’s show The Secrets of Isis, with the much loved show running all the way since 1975 until 1997! That is quite a run! Cameron left the acting world at the end of the 1980s, and is currently in marketing for a number of hotels.
Joanna Cameron
Barbara Streisand
Barbara Streisand is another showbiz star who really does not need much of an introduction. Her name is practically synonymous with Hollywood by now! The late 1960s were when Streisand’s career really began taking shape, when she starred in musicals such as Funny Girl and Hello Dolly!, and in the 1970s her career really took off, and her name has been established amongst the greats of the industry ever since. Streisand has also directed, written, composed, produced, and is also one of the biggest selling artists in history!
Barbara Streisand