This page of Top 100 Movie Stars comes from two lists. The first list is the American Film Institute’s Top 50 Classic Stars. The second list is our list of the Top 50 Current Stars. Current at least compared to the AFI list. There are 50 Actors and 50 Actresses Listed Here. Yes some great performers were left off…but overall we feel this is an outstanding Top 100.
- AFI’s Top 50 Stars – stars before 1950
- UMR’s Top 25 Actors – actors who became stars after 1950
- UMR’s Top 25 Actresses – actresses who became stars after 1950
Top 100 Movie Stars by Category
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies any way you want.
- Sort Top 100 Movie Stars by the number of their movies in our database
- Sort Top 100 Movie Stars by career adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
- Sort Top 100 Movie Stars by career average critics and audience rating…all their movies combined
- Sort Top 100 Movie Stars by how many career Oscar® nominations and Oscar® wins their combined movies earned
- Sort Top 100 Movie Stars by their career average Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
- The actor link takes you to our UMR page on that performer
Our Top 100 Stars Are Ranked By Using All The Stats In The Table – James Stewart is our “Best of the Best” while Sophia Loren is the “Worst of the Best”.
| Rank | Top 100 Star | Overall Rank | Movies | Total Adjusted Domestic Box Office | AVG Review % | Oscar Noms / Wins | AVG UMR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Stewart | 1st | 76 | $10,571,600,000 | 70.3 % | 081 / 014 | 79.10 | |
| Cary Grant | 2nd | 65 | $9,373,000,000 | 72.6 % | 071 / 009 | 79.90 | |
| Gary Cooper | 3rd | 73 | $10,767,500,000 | 67.7 % | 101 / 018 | 79.50 | |
| Spencer Tracy | 4th | 62 | $9,606,156,000 | 68.4 % | 090 / 017 | 77.70 | |
| Tom Hanks | 5th | 50 | $8,355,000,000 | 68.8 % | 090 / 020 | 73.10 | |
| Gregory Peck | 6th | 53 | $7,875,800,000 | 67.2 % | 095 / 022 | 73.90 | |
| Humphrey Bogart | 7th | 70 | $8,624,000,000 | 69.8 % | 052 / 010 | 76.70 | |
| Fred Astaire | 8th | 39 | $5,850,000,000 | 69.7 % | 059 / 007 | 81.50 | |
| Clark Gable | 9th | 64 | $11,475,200,000 | 67.5 % | 047 / 017 | 82.70 | |
| Marlon Brando | 10th | 38 | $5,874,800,000 | 69.1 % | 092 / 023 | 72.60 | |
| Burt Lancaster | 11th | 69 | $7,010,400,000 | 69.5 % | 088 / 020 | 70.10 | |
| Harrison Ford | 12th | 52 | $11,996,400,000 | 67.0 % | 088 / 022 | 68.90 | |
| Judy Garland | 13th | 31 | $5,784,600,000 | 72.5 % | 039 / 006 | 87.60 | |
| Paul Newman | 14th | 60 | $7,512,000,000 | 66.7 % | 102 / 022 | 67.40 | |
| John Wayne | 15th | 94 | $12,154,200,000 | 64.5 % | 077 / 014 | 73.80 | |
| Olivia de Havilland | 16th | 48 | $7,483,200,000 | 65.4 % | 081 / 025 | 74.50 | |
| Ingrid Bergman | 17th | 32 | $4,899,200,000 | 72.3 % | 066 / 013 | 74.00 | |
| Clint Eastwood | 18th | 65 | $7,065,500,000 | 69.5 % | 049 / 013 | 74.30 | |
| Jack Nicholson | 19th | 51 | $5,599,800,000 | 69.9 % | 097 / 022 | 66.30 | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | 20th | 26 | $3,842,800,000 | 71.1 % | 095 / 031 | 73.30 | |
| Tom Cruise | 21st | 42 | $7,047,600,000 | 66.7 % | 055 / 009 | 78.40 | |
| Robert Redford | 22nd | 47 | $7,256,800,000 | 67.6 % | 070 / 027 | 70.00 | |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | 23rd | 17 | $1,052,300,000 | 80.2 % | 082 / 021 | 78.10 | |
| Meryl Streep | 24th | 59 | $4,489,900,000 | 69.5 % | 119 / 028 | 67.30 | |
| Katharine Hepburn | 25th | 43 | $5,314,800,000 | 69.0 % | 063 / 014 | 71.30 | |
| Cate Blanchett | 26th | 47 | $4,577,800,000 | 69.9 % | 094 / 029 | 61.80 | |
| Dustin Hoffman | 27th | 55 | $7,067,500,000 | 66.5 % | 088 / 023 | 63.70 | |
| William Holden | 28th | 66 | $7,510,800,000 | 64.6 % | 088 / 028 | 66.60 | |
| Jack Lemmon | 29th | 53 | $5,225,800,000 | 67.9 % | 073 / 015 | 69.70 | |
| Brad Pitt | 30th | 45 | $4,315,500,000 | 68.3 % | 076 / 013 | 71.70 | |
| James Cagney | 31st | 61 | $6,801,500,000 | 66.8 % | 046 / 008 | 75.30 | |
| Myrna Loy | 32nd | 74 | $9,057,600,000 | 65.3 % | 041 / 013 | 73.40 | |
| Marlene Dietrich | 33rd | 32 | $3,952,000,000 | 70.1 % | 043 / 008 | 77.00 | |
| Gene Hackman | 34th | 76 | $7,083,200,000 | 65.7 % | 092 / 017 | 57.50 | |
| Deborah Kerr | 35th | 39 | $4,543,500,000 | 67.0 % | 071 / 022 | 71.10 | |
| Irene Dunne | 36th | 31 | $4,067,200,000 | 67.9 % | 042 / 007 | 79.40 | |
| Vivien Leigh | 37th | 15 | $3,196,500,000 | 71.6 % | 041 / 015 | 78.00 | |
| Claudette Colbert | 38th | 48 | $6,273,600,000 | 66.4 % | 041 / 008 | 74.60 | |
| Bette Davis | 39th | 79 | $6,351,600,000 | 65.2 % | 084 / 014 | 65.00 | |
| Henry Fonda | 40th | 83 | $8,690,100,000 | 64.2 % | 058 / 013 | 66.60 | |
| Grace Kelly | 41st | 11 | $2,338,600,000 | 77.2 % | 028 / 008 | 89.50 | |
| Audrey Hepburn | 42nd | 25 | $2,862,500,000 | 71.9 % | 058 / 015 | 69.50 | |
| Shirley Temple | 43rd | 37 | $5,072,700,000 | 67.6 % | 013 / 002 | 80.00 | |
| Charles Chaplin | 44th | 13 | $2,860,000,000 | 81.9 % | 007 / 001 | 83.00 | |
| James Dean | 45th | 3 | $930,300,000 | 85.5 % | 017 / 002 | 98.70 | |
| Edward G. Robinson | 46th | 72 | $7,365,600,000 | 66.6 % | 033 / 002 | 68.70 | |
| Gene Kelly | 47th | 40 | $5,140,000,000 | 64.8 % | 052 / 013 | 72.30 | |
| Ginger Rogers | 48th | 55 | $6,644,000,000 | 64.7 % | 039 / 003 | 72.30 | |
| Marilyn Monroe | 49th | 25 | $3,217,500,000 | 70.8 % | 030 / 007 | 73.40 | |
| Greta Garbo | 50th | 24 | $2,217,600,000 | 71.9 % | 014 / 001 | 80.00 | |
| Laurence Olivier | 51st | 49 | $3,856,300,000 | 67.2 % | 073 / 017 | 64.50 | |
| Doris Day | 52nd | 39 | $4,945,200,000 | 65.2 % | 029 / 004 | 78.20 | |
| Steve McQueen | 53rd | 26 | $3,400,800,000 | 69.7 % | 030 / 005 | 71.80 | |
| Robert DeNiro | 54th | 95 | $5,937,500,000 | 62.2 % | 099 / 019 | 51.50 | |
| Denzel Washington | 55th | 47 | $3,886,900,000 | 68.2 % | 035 / 007 | 71.10 | |
| Jean Harlow | 56th | 22 | $2,844,600,000 | 69.7 % | 004 / 000 | 80.20 | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | 57th | 81 | $7,484,400,000 | 64.8 % | 029 / 001 | 67.40 | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | 58th | 48 | $6,840,000,000 | 58.4 % | 076 / 023 | 61.20 | |
| Al Pacino | 59th | 46 | $4,117,000,000 | 65.6 % | 078 / 016 | 59.70 | |
| Morgan Freeman | 60th | 70 | $7,028,000,000 | 62.3 % | 061 / 018 | 58.00 | |
| Mary Pickford | 61st | 33 | $4,596,900,000 | 65.8 % | 001 / 001 | 79.70 | |
| Julie Andrews | 62nd | 28 | $5,862,920,000 | 64.7 % | 064 / 012 | 69.18 | |
| Barbra Streisand | 63rd | 19 | $4,005,200,000 | 59.1 % | 044 / 008 | 78.00 | |
| Michael Caine | 64th | 100 | $6,500,000,000 | 62.3 % | 072 / 013 | 48.80 | |
| Kirk Douglas | 65th | 71 | $5,580,600,000 | 64.1 % | 048 / 015 | 59.70 | |
| Lillian Gish | 66th | 31 | $3,865,700,000 | 68.6 % | 006 / 001 | 69.60 | |
| Robert Mitchum | 67th | 85 | $7,335,500,000 | 62.1 % | 037 / 006 | 58.50 | |
| Mel Gibson | 68th | 44 | $5,253,600,000 | 63.8 % | 038 / 011 | 66.20 | |
| Julie Christie | 69th | 34 | $3,002,200,000 | 67.8 % | 054 / 012 | 58.20 | |
| Natalie Wood | 70th | 44 | $4,822,400,000 | 61.7 % | 051 / 015 | 66.00 | |
| Shirley MacLaine | 71st | 51 | $4,411,500,000 | 61.1 % | 075 / 017 | 57.60 | |
| Sidney Poitier | 72nd | 46 | $4,140,000,000 | 63.6 % | 054 / 012 | 62.40 | |
| Diane Keaton | 73rd | 48 | $4,387,200,000 | 63.6 % | 067 / 017 | 54.80 | |
| Robin Williams | 74th | 66 | $6,923,400,000 | 57.1% | 056 / 010 | 54.59 | |
| Anne Bancroft | 75th | 50 | $3,495.000000 | 63.9% | 044 / 003 | 55.50 | |
| Sean Connery | 76th | 57 | $6,857,100,000 | 62.8 % | 034 / 007 | 57.00 | |
| Sally Field | 77th | 33 | $4,669,500,000 | 61.0 % | 046 / 013 | 63.30 | |
| Jane Fonda | 78th | 45 | $3,978,000,000 | 62.2 % | 063 / 013 | 58.80 | |
| Rita Hayworth | 79th | 35 | $3,790,500,000 | 64.0 % | 035 / 005 | 69.20 | |
| Lauren Bacall | 80th | 36 | $3,272,400,000 | 68.0 % | 018 / 005 | 62.60 | |
| Richard Burton | 81st | 47 | $4,032,600,000 | 61.0 % | 073 / 018 | 53.80 | |
| Joan Crawford | 82nd | 78 | $6,762,600,000 | 58.8 % | 032 / 003 | 60.50 | |
| Peter O'Toole | 83rd | 37 | $2,834,200,000 | 66.0 % | 054 / 021 | 57.30 | |
| Will Smith | 84th | 32 | $5,574,400,000 | 58.4 % | 012 / 003 | 69.50 | |
| Marx Brothers | 85th | 18 | $1,704,600,000 | 68.0 % | 001 / 000 | 67.70 | |
| Kate Winslet | 86th | 36 | $2,354,400,000 | 66.0 % | 054 / 016 | 52.10 | |
| Ava Gardner | 87th | 42 | $4,569,600,000 | 60.3 % | 030 / 003 | 61.70 | |
| Buster Keaton | 88th | 29 | $664,888,000 | 66.6% | 003 / 002 | 64.60 | |
| Orson Welles | 89th | 56 | $3,382,400,000 | 66.0 % | 034 / 009 | 50.50 | |
| Jodie Foster | 90th | 40 | $2,568,000,000 | 66.7 % | 027 / 007 | 59.00 | |
| Carole Lombard | 91st | 39 | $3,279,900,000 | 63.4 % | 008 / 000 | 68.30 | |
| Julia Roberts | 92nd | 46 | $4,926,600,000 | 58.1 % | 022 / 001 | 60.50 | |
| Faye Dunaway | 93rd | 43 | $3,186,300,000 | 60.3 % | 049 / 011 | 44.90 | |
| Susan Sarandon | 94th | 76 | $3,724,000,000 | 62.1 % | 034 / 002 | 47.00 | |
| Sandra Bullock | 95th | 37 | $3,977,500,000 | 54.2 % | 025 / 014 | 54.80 | |
| Mae West | 96th | 12 | $1,515,600,000 | 60.4 % | 002 / 000 | 67.60 | |
| Charlize Theron | 97th | 44 | $2,455,200,000 | 59.8 % | 029 / 010 | 48.30 | |
| Goldie Hawn | 98th | 30 | $2,649,000,000 | 57.1 % | 016 / 004 | 57.80 | |
| Angelina Jolie | 99th | 35 | $3,178,000,000 | 56.2 % | 016 / 001 | 53.10 | |
| Sophia Loren | 100th | 35 | $2,261,000,000 | 58.4 % | 018 / 001 | 51.20 |
So what do you think of our rankings? Look good? Think we are crazy? Left somebody out? Look forward to some feedback.
Want more stats? The following link takes you to a page that ranks over 500 Movie Stars…..because more people were involved in the database…the rankings are different. Ranking 564 Movie Stars.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
Hi Steve roller
Rich spy movie
$ 100000000000000000000000000000
Hey Steve….not sure what this means…but thanks for stopping by.
sadly Gloria Swanson isn’t listed
Where is Jackie Chan?!
Hey Anonyous….Jackie Chan is a great movie star….but statistically he does not make our Top 100. Our three main categories are box office (his best category), reviews (he is ok in this category) and awards (he does not fare well at all). In our Ranking Today’s Movie Stars he is ranked 284th overall. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the feedback.
BOB’s TOP 10 STARS WHO HAVE EXCELLED IN WH’s TOP 100
1/The Duke 15th: Very good I feel considering that the unremarkable quality and earnings of John’s earlier movies before he made thereally- big time may well have dragged down his scores a bit. As it is his average gross per movie over nearly 100 films is around $130 million which is phenomenal and supports the stance of those who argue that John has been the greatest box office star of all time – and he has achieved that reputation without having to rely on the mega-bucks franchises that many stars depend on today.
2/Jimmy Stewart: his No 1 position is the icing on the cake for me as he is my 3rd fave male star of all time and in my early formative years as a moviegoer 1950-55 he was in fact my VERY favorite among both genders thanks to Hitch’s Rear Window and Jimmy’s 5 classic westerns of the period: Winchester 73/Bend of the River/The Far Country/The Naked Spur/The Man from Laramie – and even Thunder Bay which is officially listed as an “Adventure/Drama” movie about oil drilling but as The Work Horse told me once is really a western at heart.
3/Brando at No 10. This is almost the biggest delight of all because Marlon made few films compared with some of the other big names in the chart – for example 38 releases to The Duke’s 94 in the chart; like Day-Lewis Marlon was inclined to go AWOL for considerable periods at times; and for a almost a whole decade [the 1960s] he was perceived to be in the box office “wilderness” though whilst the earnings from his films did drop off that decade a detailed examination of Bruce’s figures illustrate that his commercial failure was exaggerated a bit overall. Within all the foregoing context Marlon’s 36th placing in Bruce’s box office column is highly respectable especially when one considers that of the 35 performers ranked above Brando only 6 have a better AVERAGE per movie than him: 6th Spencer Tracy [who would probably have considered that unfairly low!] 5th Olivia De Havilland helped of course by GWTW 4th Tom Hanks 3rd Tom Cruise 2nd King Gable 1st Harrison Ford with an average per movie of approx $230 million over 52 movies -wow! In addition Brando is no 1 in two of Bruce’s three charts for the 1950s decade.
4/Royal Dano sometimes known as Gregory Peck 6th. I almost applauded when I saw that vertiginous ranking because in terms of mega stardom the Royal Gregory tends to be largely underrated in my experience. For example although for many years he hovered around the 20-30 slots in Quigley’s Top 30, its Top TEN which many treat as “The Bible” of movie star popularity all but ignored him despite the whopping great grosses his movies attracted. Therefore in what I have seen only the Cogerson figures [and Greg’s 8th placing in Bruce’s comprehensive Top 50 Stars book] have properly recognized Dano/Peck’s rightful position as in reality one of the very greatest film icons. In fairness though Joel Hirschhorn on page 293 of his 1983 book Rating the Movie Stars does give Greg some support:
‘Critic Pauline Kael called Gregory Peck “competent but always a little boring- a leading man disguised as a star.” Peck was rarely exciting but in his youth he had looks and sexuality. The sexuality has gone but his earnestness still lends conviction to his later work.’
That final line is so perceptive that I am convinced that Bosley Crowther or David Shipman must have ghost-written it!!
The Bob, 2 big thumbs up. all points of agreement. are you feeling okay? LOL ; ^ )
HI BOB COX
I always give honor where honor is due. I am not like some guys on this site who gush accolades over EVERYTHING!
I keep my eye on this and the decade-by-decade charts as I get the impression that The Work Horse often updates them as new information comes to him – and that he may even tinker with them too at times to give Myrna Loy’s figures further advantages!!
Overall though this chart reflects almost perfectly the identities of the greatest stars in the movies over the years as I personally have perceived them.
The chart is not though very kind to my all-time fave gals: Doris 52nd/Joan Crawford 82nd/Babs Streisand 63rd/Julia Roberts 92nd/and my poor lovely Deanna not in the 100 at all.
That said 4 of my own Top 10 males perform excellently at the top end of the table and some may even have improved their positions since I last inspected the chart- see part 2 of my post.