Best Actress: The History of Oscar®-Winning Women

by Stephen Tapert, Roxane Gay (Foreword)

Ingrid Bergman. Audrey Hepburn. Elizabeth Taylor. Jane Fonda. Meryl Streep. The list of women who have won the coveted and legendary Academy Award for Best Actress is long and varied. Through this illustrious roster we can trace the history of women in Hollywood, from the rise of Mary Pickford in the early 20th century to the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements of today, which have galvanized women across the world to speak out for equal pay, respect, power, and opportunity.
 
This lavishly illustrated coffee table book offers a vital examination of the first 75 women to have won the Best Actress Oscar over the span of 90 years. From inaugural recipient Janet Gaynor to Frances McDormand’s 2018 acceptance speech that assertively brought women to the forefront, Best The History of Oscar®-Winning Women serves to promote a new appreciation for the cinematic roles these women won for, as well as the real-life roles many of them played – and still play – in advancing women’s rights and equality. Stories range from Bette Davis’ groundbreaking battle against the studio system; to the cutting-edge wardrobes of Katharine Hepburn, Diane Keaton and Cher; to the historical significance of Halle Berry’s victory; to the awareness raised around sexual violence by the performances of Jodie Foster, Brie Larson, and others.
 
Showcasing a dazzling collection of 200 photographs, many of which have never before been seen or published, Best Actress honors the legacies of these revered and extraordinary women while scrutinizing the roadblocks that they continue to overcome.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Womens, Biography

516 pages, Hardcover

First published December 10, 2019

Reviews

[ColumbusReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very first time I got excited about the Oscars was on April 14, 1969 when the show was first televised. The highlight was the best actress category when Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn tied for that special award. I was only a little tyke then but I recall watching it with my family and getting excited about that category in particular.

Streisand is featured here, in Best Actress: The History of Oscar-Winning Women, in a behind the scenes, off-camera shot from the wonderful, Funny Girl in which she tied for best actress with Katherine Hepburn for The Lion In Winter.

This gorgeous and lavishly illustrated book is filled with all the Best Actress winners from Janet Gaynor in 1928 to Emma Stone in 2016. It also includes some wonderful tidbits and unfamiliar and unknown information about the winners and nominees. About 1992 winner Emma Thompson for Howard’s End:

“Once describing herself as a “horse with a permed fringe” the straightforward openly atheist and refreshingly self-deprecating actress has freely admitted to feeling at times unattractive, talentless, insecure, and clinically depressed, but as the only best actress Oscar winner to have also won the Academy award for Best Writing, Thompson has continually projected an image of wide ranging achievement in a world that still struggles to see women as anything more than the “fairer sex.”

It’s also interesting to see how the different types of roles evolved over the years into more meatier roles for women in many respects. That being said, it also puts a spotlight on the lack of diversity in both the winners and nominees over the ninety plus years the award has been given out. Halle Berry being the only African American (or woman of color) to ever win the Best Actress award.

An absolutely fascinating book for those Oscar cinemaphiles out there or just anyone looking for a wonderful history of the only award in Oscar herstory that could give Best Picture a run for its money. Ha!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a sample of the Best Actress: The History of Oscar winning women via Edelweiss. I didn't realize it was a sample and I gobbled it up right away.

Best Actress is a large, physically gorgeous coffee table book which tells the stories of the actresses who won Best Actress, from the start of Oscar history until 2017. What I loved about the book is that the author knew how to develop a story which was informative and engrossing without being gossipy. I learned so much about the industry in general and about women's role in Hollywood which was challenging and unjust and this narrative was interwoven throughout the stories.

So, readers, I bought the book.

Thank you to Edelweiss for allowing me to review this book.

[Joseph J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found myself quickly absorbing this beautiful volume. The illustrations in color and black & white add spice to a rich and well sourced commentary, with each "chapter" a year by year account of Best Actress winners culminating with Emma Stone for LaLa Land. A diverse group, I especially enjoyed the career overviews of Shirley Booth-much more than just Hazel-and Julie Christie, a crush from my adolescent viewing of Dr. Zhivago. The comments of actresses on their peers are entertaining, richly so in the case of Bette Davis on Crawford-see what if Crawford was on fire-and Davis on Booth, ditto Marlena Dietrich on Booth. For some the Oscar was a culmination, and for many the movie career end of the road. Visual and entertaining-and informative! I believe there is a misprint re: the years of Sophia Loren's win, as two winners are cited for 1960 (Liz Taylor and Butterfield8 being the correct winner year) and that set my head to scratching for a while as to where the heck is 1961?

[Kim Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably a 3.5 rating. The book covers all the best actress Oscar winners up to 2016. There are 3-4 pages on each actress. Discussion includes information about the movies they won the Oscar for, some short information about where they are from (birth, some family background), maybe a slight discussion about other films if there was a long career or famous movies, what happened after they won, late in life information for older actresses. If you are fan of movies this is a good book to give just enough information about each actress to get a feel about them.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read all of this, but found it more interesting and read more than the few I originally intended to read. Lots of information as well as photos about the Best Actress winners.

[Sosa Coleone · Rating 3 out of 5]

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