1. The “Loverly” Heroine

"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."

What could I possibly say about Audrey Hepburn that hasn’t been said a thousand times, more articulately and accurately? Exuding a sort of elegance that should have been intimidating, the ever-stunning Audrey came off as anything but: a woman as sweet as could have possibly be, with a heart bigger than herself, a humanist, a beauty... Audrey had it all, and will remain forever ageless. Hollywood's very own Fair Lady.

Favourite performance: Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Favourite films: Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, How to Steal a Million, Two for the Road
Leading men of choice: Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole

2. The Violet-Eyed Temptress

“When the sun comes up, I have morals again.”

A star from all sides - causing controversy throughout her entire career, (and even now, post retirement) enlightening the world with her talent, lifestyle and love affairs; Elizabeth Taylor, the most beautiful woman ever filmed, made the world her playground... and we cheered her for it.

Favourite performance: Suddenly, Last Summer
Favourite films: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra
Leading men of choice: Montgomery Clift, Richard Burton

3. The Haunted English Rose

"Scorpios burn themselves out and eat themselves up and they are careless about themselves - like me."

Burning with double passion - that of her disease and the curse of her astrological sign, (my fellow November 5th Scorpio!) Vivien Leigh was not only a struggling soul, a great actress and a delicate beauty - she was, and remains to this day thanks to her loving fandom, an icon.

Favourite performance: Gone with the Wind

Favourite films: Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, Waterloo Bridge

Leading men of choice: Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier

4. The Tormented Soul

"You know what I want? I want yesterday."

With an unenviable childhood that drove her to a lifetime of psychiatrists (dealing with a mass of phobias, including that which proved fatal), an unavoidable talent, impressively innocent and delicate beauty and an incredible knack for moving forward despite all difficulties, Natalie Wood deserves every moment of attention ever given to her by anyone.

Favourite performance: Splendor in the Grass

Favourite films: West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause

Leading men of choice: James Dean, Warren Beatty

5. The Belle of Sweden

"I've gone from saint to whore and back to saint again, all in one lifetime."

An angelic beauty seldom approached, an imposing presence both physical and spiritual, a natural and raw talent that has never, ever been equalled: Ingrid Bergman was meant to be filmed - and thank the muses she was, for what a great loss the world of cinema would've had otherwise. So... for Ingrid, Sam - play it again.

Favourite performance: Gaslight

Favourite films: Casablanca, Spellbound, Gaslight

Leading men of choice: Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant

6. The Fairy Tale Princess

"Hollywood amuses me. Holier-than-thou for the public and unholier-than-the-devil in reality."

Her very face exuded class - a screen mermaid, a star... and, for the most part of the 20th century, the world's favourite princess. Elegant, beyond beautiful and the ultimate Hitchcock lady, Grace Kelly and her many facets will live forever in the screen and in her [grateful and adoring!] people of Monaco.

Favourite performance: Rear Window

Favourite films: To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, High Society

Leading man of choice: Cary Grant

7. The Snappy “Contessa"

"When I lose my temper, honey, you can't find it any place."

A star is ever there was one, a woman of the world, a high class bitch and an absolute joy to have had on film - the witty remarks and haunting beauty of Ava Gardner (one that not even The Chairman could ever fully take off his mind) make her stand as one of the greatest in history.

Favourite performance: The Night of the Iguana

Favourite films: The Barefoot Contessa, The Night of the Iguana, Mogambo

Leading man of choice: Clark Gable

Classic Hollywood goddesses

Since ancient times considered "magical", myth or no myth, the number seven is still probably the most constant through the ages - seven seas, seven [basic] musical notes, seven wonders, seven days, seven deadly sins... seven of my favourite on-screen divas of the classic era.

One for each day of this week, starting tomorrow with my number 7 - from where I'll work my way up.

The very fab Holly Golightly

I was just watching the endlessly wonderful Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (for the thousandth time, yes) and, I was, again, so marvelled by all her costumes. Sure, you can put a wrap Audrey up in a towel and she'd look wonderful (actually - she does wear a towel in the movie and pulls it off) but, wow, there's just something magical about the fashion surrounding Audrey's outfits in Tiffany's (or, at the very least, the most famous of them all: la petite robe noire Holly wears at the very first scene) Seeing as she was basically Givenchy's muse, it was him who created the gorgeous, gorgeous clothing she got to wear in the film, and truthfully, Givenchy couldn't have possibly found a greater muse than Audrey.

So I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from Breakfast at Tiffany's, featuring the stunning Audrey Hepburn in her absolute icon-ness...

By far the picture's most celebrated outfit (and, needless to say, one of the most iconic pieces of clothing ever put on film) Givenchy's homage to Coco Chanel's "little black dress" (la petite robe noire) is nothing short of perfection. Of course, it's nearly impossible to pull off looking quite like that unless you are Audrey Hepburn, but everyone can agree that the very idea of the little black dress is made for every woman - it stylizes what needs to be stylized and shapes up what needs to be shaped. Add to that the gorgeous jewelry, hairdo and sunglasses, and you have probably the most timeless look anyone has ever achieved.

Truthfully, though, the sort of figure Audrey had was the type to be able to pull off anything. The model style - by not having such a great figure she looks amazing in anything. So, she basically wore a towel in this one bit and looked absolutely to die for - it's plain simple, Audrey just exuded class.




More of the eternal Ms. Golightly...

Five things I love about Liz

Seeing as Elizabeth Taylor is my favorite movie star of all time, seemed only natural to dedicate a post to her... so I'm making a tiny list of things and mention only 5 things that make me love her:




Her beauty
Call me shallow, but I can't help but loving someone who looks the way Elizabeth did about 50 years ago (yes, did, I'm not going to pretend she's maintained her good looks up to this point) Wasn't she just lovely? Elizabeth's face looks like a portrait: flawless skin, great bone structure, gorgeous and well-defined features (the cute little nose, sensuous lips, her very soft face in general), thick eyebrows... and, of course, her eyes, those famous, big [blue-green-violet?] eyes of hers.






Her ability to show emotions on-screen
While I'll be the first to admit that when Elizabeth had just started out there seemed to be a sense of under achievement in her acting, as she matured so did her talent, as she exploded with emotion - particularly in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, BUtterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, she was just splendorous.






Her determination to find love
Might seem a tad too obvious, but I really admire this in Elizabeth: she spent a good portion of her life falling in love, and idealizing romance enough to marry eight times. Fine, it's not exactly a very grown-up thing to do, have more weddings than shoes, but I love her to death for trying. She's probably known more happiness than most people thanks to this idealization of love - and isn't happiness the whole point of life?




Her cheerful approach at her own life
While almost completely out of the spotlight nowadays, Elizabeth still makes a random public appearance every now and then - and there's not yet an interviewer that doesn't attempt to poke at the old "Liz" clichés... and she merrily changes the subject. Just last year, Larry King interviewed her and, in his endless [un]eloquence, randomly said something about her eyes being pretty: "are they violet?" Elizabeth calmly smiled and replied "oh, are they? I always thought they were red". Now, that's class. Not to mention her many quotes of the style of "Some of my best friends have been dogs and horses" - gotta love someone who takes things lightly.





Her off-centerness Doesn't this picture speak for itself? While Elizabeth's days of glory might be long past, she's still lovably quirky. Now, being best friends with Michael Jackson is odd enough (however understandable it might be; after all, there are obvious connections between the two, like both being practically pushed into the entertainment media while extremely young), but something like this... maid of honor in Liza Minnelli's last wedding? Pure Elizabeth! Oh, and of course, it's not exactly the best of signs to have the queen of unsuccessful marriages as your matron of honor.