The 1970s were an exciting time for Hollywood - full of iconic actors and actresses and memorable films. Modern viewers may look back on the movies of the seventies and wonder what made these pictures so great, but without the TV and cinema of fifty years ago, there would not be the cinema of today.
Many of today's movie remakes draw from this classic era, trying to recapture or reinvent some of that strange magic from the screen of the twentieth century. Whether they were just getting their start in the seventies or the seventies contained their most notable appearances, it is impossible to make an exhaustive list of iconic actresses of the 1970s because there are so many. But it's feasible to look at some of the most unforgettable starlets from the era.
Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter is best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman, also known as Diana Prince, in the first live-action television show starring the character from 1975 to 1979. Before landing the role of Wonder Woman, Carter won the title of Miss World USA in 1972 and placed in the top fifteen at the Miss World pageant.
Since her tenure as Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter has appeared in several other superhero productions like Sky High in 2005, Smallville in 2007, and the CW's Supergirl in a recurring role as the President of the United States. Carter revisited Wonder Woman's story when she made a surprise cameo at the end of Wonder Woman: 1984.
Farah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith & Kate Jackson
Even if audiences have never seen the original show or can't name any of the actresses from it, most people are familiar with the concept of Charlie's Angels. The original group of "angels," Farah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, and Kate Jackson, first appeared on television in 1976. The show ran for five seasons.
Fawcett and Jackson were later replaced with Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts, but these ladies are considered more iconic as a group than as individual stars. There was an attempted reboot of the show in 2011 by ABC that didn't work out, but different variations of the angels have appeared in movies in 2000, 2003, and most recently in 2019.
Sally Field
Sally Field first gained notoriety in Hollywood playing the title characters of Gidget and Sister Bertrille, The Flying Nun, on 1960's television. She appeared on various other television shows in the 1970s before landing significant roles in the TV mini-series Sybil, based on a true story and for which she won an Emmy, Smokey and the Bandit with Burt Reynolds, and as the title character in Norma Rae.
Sally Fields continued to appear in iconic movies and portray iconic characters after the 1970s. Her other filmography includes Smokey and the Bandit II, Steel Magnolias, Soapdish, Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, Lincoln, and The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2.
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John is best recognized for her role as "Sandy" in the 1978 hit Grease opposite John Travolta. Grease is one of the most well-known musicals of all time and much of that is due to Olivia Newton-John's performance, especially on the soundtrack, which "was the second best selling album of the year in the U.S."
Newton-John also starred in Two of a Kind with John Travolta in 1983, but she has been featured on many more soundtracks and in more music videos, especially in the eighties, than she appears in movies.
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd's career began in the 1970s, her first professional acting credit being in 1971. That first credit was for The Last Picture Show, one of the defining movies of '70s cinema. She also starred opposite Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster in the 1976 thriller Taxi Driver.
Other movies include The Heartbreak Kid, Daisy Miller, and At Long Last Love. Shepherd went on to star in numerous television shows, including Moonlighting with Bruce Willis in the eighties - considered one of the first successful television "dramadies" - and Cybill in the mid-to-late-nineties.
Mary Tyler Moore
After appearing on The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966, Mary Tyler Moore went on to star in her own self-titled sitcom from 1970 to 1977 about the life of a single, independent career woman working at a news station. While these are her two best-known roles, Mary Tyler Moore was an icon both on and off the screen.
Moore was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was thirty-three and advocated on behalf of herself and other individuals for more research into the condition; she defied gender stereotypes and her network executives by insisting on wearing pants instead of a skirt when she was on The Dick Van Dyke Show; and, her own show won twenty-nine Emmys during its tenure, holding the record for many years.
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher's popularity skyrocketed when she appeared in the 1977 epic Star Wars: A New Hope. Fisher's portrayal of Princess Leia is arguably her most defining role.
Princess, later General, Leia was also one of the last roles she played prior to her death in 2016. Fisher also appeared in the classic rom-com When Harry Met Sally, 1980's The Blues Brothers, The Burbs with Tom Hanks, Soapdish in the nineties, the 2003 Charlie's Angels movie, and numerous television shows.
Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll is another example of an icon that was by no means limited to the screen. Carroll was a singer, Broadway star, and activist, in addition to her acting career. Modern viewers may be familiar with her for her recurring roles on Grey's Anatomy and White Collar, but Diahann Carroll made history in almost every role she played.
Carroll was the first African American female to win a Tony award. She portrayed a widowed, working mother in NBC's Julia in the sixties and seventies that was "the first time an African American actress starred on a television series in a non-servant role." She won a Golden Globe in 1969 and a Primetime Emmy in 1970 for Julia, both also firsts for an African American actress. One of her most notable roles was on the original Dynasty series in the eighties as the first Black person in a featured role on a soap opera. Carroll passed away in 2019 at the age of eighty-four, but her incredible legacy lives on.
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand is iconic no matter what era she is in. Some of her most well-known pictures, such as Funny Girl and Hello, Dolly!, came out in the 1960s, but her fame carried into the seventies and beyond. Streisand reprised her role as Fanny Brice in the 1975 sequel to Funny Girl entitled Funny Lady. She also starred in What's Up, Doc?, The Way We Were, A Star Is Born, and Yentl.
The last of the list, Yentl, celebrates Streisand's Jewish heritage, which she enjoyed portraying in many of her movies. Even more than acting, Barbra Streisand is best known for her amazing vocals. She has appeared on Broadway, in many musicals, and has won the "EGOT" - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony - awards.
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton's professional acting career started in 1970. She appeared in many notable and award-winning movies of the decade, including Love and Other Strangers, The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Love and Death, and Manhattan. One of her most well-known and beloved roles was as the title character in Annie Hall, played opposite writer and director Woody Allen. They received almost forty nominations and won thirty-one awards.
For her performance, Diane Keaton received an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her role in Annie Hall and the character's unique style helped define women's fashion of the decade. Keaton has appeared in many other roles over the years, many of them in comedies, and is known for being an eccentric Hollywood personality.