Imagine a painter who was born in Florence at the time of the great masters. Imagine a coder born in Silicon Valley. You get the idea: imagine the fate of these actresses who were born in Los Angeles.
It is this place that defines our encounters, our habits, our business opportunities, our friendships, our tastes and our careers.
To follow up on the 12 most famous actors in Los Angeles and because I will never get tired of paying tribute to the fairer sex, here are not the 12 but the 15 most famous actresses who were born in Los Angeles.
When you grow up close to Hollywood, inevitably, it changes your vision of life!
Jennifer Anniston
Star actress of Friends born in Los Angeles, the conditions for Jennifer Aniston to become an actress were not ideal! Although her parents, both actors, were successful, they advised their daughter not to pursue the same path, and pushed her to study law. But their reluctance only strengthened his determination. After finishing her studies, she performed in a few Broadway theaters while working odd jobs.
Her beginnings are somewhat in her infancy, she appears in a few films as well as on television with Mac et moi, Code Quantum, Herman’s Head, The man with the Rolls and the horror film Leprechaun . It was in 1994 that she met with colossal success with Friends . It still represents 10 years of adventure, 10 seasons or 236 episodes. Series for which she won in 2003 the golden globe for best actress in a comedy television series.
She will continue her rise on stage while diversifying her acting game for years, with many successful films such as The Iron Giant, Bruce Almighty, Polly and I, How to kill his boss? , or The Good Girl for which she won the Hollywood Film Award for Best Actress.
His collaboration with the brand Elizabeth Arden allowed him during the years 2012 to design 4 perfumes. She is also involved in the LGBT cause, and supports many organizations such as AmeriCares, Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, EB Medical Research Foundation, Project ALS, OmniPeace, and Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Particularly popular with the media and the general public, she has had her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 2012.
But hey, for me, it will always be Rachel…
Angelina Jolie
A humanist actress born in Los Angeles, she has built her career thanks to films such as Mr and Mrs Smith, The Exchange, Maleficent or The Eternals . But above all, she is renowned for having defended many humanitarian causes, for refugees and the environment. She went on a humanitarian mission to meet refugees in more than 20 countries such as Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cambodia, Pakistan, Thailand, Ecuador, Kosovo, Kenya or Namibia, so that in 2001 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) named her a goodwill ambassador.
In 2014 Queen Elizabeth II awarded her the title of “Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George” to reward her action against sexual violence against women in times of war.
The impressive media coverage around Angelina Jolie since her earliest childhood has increased her influence on the general public. At 37, she had to undergo a double mastectomy and then an oophorectomy 2 years later, following the discovery of a hereditary genetic anomaly in her organism which could have caused cancer. Following this revelation, the British Medical Journal noted a sharp rise in breast cancer screenings.
But still, the birth of the daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fuels what is called the Brangelina Fever , so much so that the People press calls her “the most anticipated baby since Jesus Christ“.
In addition to her film awards, fans will award her 2 Best Actress Golden Mickeys for her portrayal of Maleficent.
Known for his outspokenness and strong personality, The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols show named him the greatest sex symbol of all time.
She assumes her bisexuality without complex, and her relationship with actress Jenny Shimizu. And if I believe my friends from the people press, she takes a little less responsibility for her relationship with the Canadian singer The Weeknd…
Kim Kardashian
A true embodiment of reality TV and professional scandal, Los Angeles-born Kim Kardashian was originally relatively unknown to the general public. It was in 2007 that the release of her sextape with singer Ray J propelled her onto the media scene, and allowed the launch of the show The Incredible Kardashian Family (KUWTK for friends) which continues to this day. (Yes, The Kardashians broadcast on Disney +, it’s the sequel, admit it…)
Business is in Kim’s blood, and celebrity spreads her image in all areas: television, reality TV shows like Dancing with the Stars , charming newspapers and magazines, films and series, writing and even video games, Kim has also created several perfumes and developed her brand of clothing and cosmetics.
Today considered a phenomenon of pop culture, its media visibility gives it enormous influence which it knows how to use perfectly. His notoriety allowed him to embark on many other projects. Of Armenian origin through her father, she uses social networks to campaign for the recognition of the Armenian genocide. She also made a documentary with the Oxygen channel on the shortcomings of American justice, and got involved in the fight against the Covid by donating funds to the most deprived.
Often criticized, the Californian star nevertheless surprises with his audacity, and in 2011 the Glamor Awards awarded him the title of Entrepreneur of the Year.
As of this writing, her ex Kanye West absolutely wants her to break up with Pete Davidson. Take the pocorn, we’re going to laugh…
Gwyneth Paltrow
What is even better to have two parents in the cinema to become an actor? Having a godfather named Steven Spielberg! It was partly thanks to him that she was able to make her debut in front of the cameras by playing in 1991 in Hook , the sequel to Peter Pan .
But it was later in the 1990s that it was revealed with the thriller Seven ( What’s in the box ???? ) then Shakespeare in Love . It is for the latter that she will be named best actress and will win the golden globe, the Oscar as well as the screen actor guild awards.
Subsequently, she built up a filmography of around forty films, including L’Amour extra-large, Possession, The Anniversary party, The Tenenbaum family, Proof, Contagion , or even the Iron Man trilogy as well as the Avengers in as Pepper Potts.
She has also starred in the musical series Glee and since 2019 in The Politician as Georgina Hobart.
At the same time, the Los Angeles-born actress launched Goop in 2008, a website dedicated to well-being, whose advice and products are however discredited by health professionals who consider them to be misleading or even dangerous.
Regarding her love life, she was in a relationship for 11 years with Chris Martin, the singer of Coldplay, with whom she will have 2 children, before separating in 2016.
It is thanks to Gwyneth that we can break up smoothly now, thanks to conscious uncoupling .
Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Inseparable (and indistinguishable) from each other, their duo offered them many opportunities as actresses, from the age of 2. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen get their first role in La Fête à la maison , a series for which they alternated 20-minute filming sessions each to be able to film continuously. In total, the twins from Los Angeles have played in tandem in about thirty film and television productions such as Daddy I have a mom for you, A day in New York, Double twins double problems, Totally twins, The Rascals, Linked by The Secret , or Charlie’s Angels: Angels Go Wild .
The two sisters announced in 2012 that they would end their acting career to become stylists, far from the cameras and the media. Together, they will create several successful clothing lines such as Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real fashion for real girls, Elizabeth and James or Stylemint. The CFDA awarded them the Women’s Fashion Designer of the Year Award in 2012 as well as the “Accessories Designer of the Year” Award in 2018.
Very popular, they were ranked in 2007 by Forbes among the biggest fortunes in the entertainment industry, estimated at 150 million dollars. They have also had their own star on the Walk of Fame since 2004.
Fun rather improbable fact, Mary-Kate was the companion of Olivier Sarkozy, half-brother of the former French president.
Kristen Stewart: the pure Hollywood product
Born in Los Angeles, and daughter of a screenwriter mother and a producer father, Kristen Stewart had everything to end up in the cinema. She gradually got noticed at the start of her career with a dozen films such as The Safety of objects, l’Autre rive, Panic Room (for which she received a nomination for the Young Artists Awards at the age of 12), Speak, Into the Wild, or The Yellow Handkerchief .
But it is under the features of Bella Swann that the actress born in Los Angeles is really known with the saga Twilight from 2008 to 2012. She will continue her momentum with Runaways, On the road, Blanche Neige and the hunter, Still Alice , Personal Shopper , or Underwater . In addition, her performances in the films Twilight, Sils Maria and Personal Shopper will be praised on many occasions and several times rewarded with the title of best actress.
Actress, but also director, she is at the origin of the short film Come Swim , the clip Take me to the South , and The Cronology of Water . As a model she has also paraded for Balenciaga, Mulberry, Chanel, Zuhair Murad and Burberry, and has attended Fashion Week and the Met Gala in New York since 2010.
Long speculated, the revelation of his relationship with Robert Patinson (future Batman of his state) caused a sensation. However, their barely revealed relationship ended in 2012, when the People press exposed the Californian actress’ affair with Rupert Sanders, the producer of Snow White and the Huntsman .
Since Speak in which Kristen Stewart plays a young victim of rape, she has campaigned against sexual abuse for the association Security on Campus. She is also involved as a spokesperson for the LGBT cause, since she has assumed her bisexuality since 2016, as well as her relationships with model Stella Maxwell, singer Soko and Alicia Cargille. She has been engaged to screenwriter Dylan Meye since 2021.
Blake Lively
Blake Lively was conditioned to be an actress, as the youngest of an acting family. After growing up in the Tarzana district located in Los Angeles, she began her career with Four Girls and Jeans, Admitted at All Costs (for which she received the “revelation of the year” award from the Hollywood site), Life Evil Twins , and Elvis and Anabelle .
But it was in 2007 that she met with international success with the role of Serena Van Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl . His notoriety will allow him to increase his filmography with Café Society, Survival Instinct, The Shallows widely acclaimed by critics, or more recently L’Ombre d’Emily .
It was in 2011 that she met Ryan Reynolds on the set of Green Lantern , for whom she ended her relationship with Leonardo Dicaprio. And it’s obviously not for the worse, when we see how Reynolds and the Californian actress are accomplices. Just look at their many social media teasing to see that these two share a super comedic relationship. Married since 2012, they have 3 children together.
Kate Bosworth
Born in Los Angeles, Kate Bosworth spent her childhood moving for her father’s professional imperatives. It was at the age of 14 that she entered her first film production with The Man Who Whispered in the Horses’ Ear . She had been admitted to the prestigious Princeton University, but was expelled for absenteeism. Like what everyone has their priorities, and Kate obviously knew hers since she redirected herself to the 7th art. She is gradually gaining experience and fame with the series Young Americans, The Most Beautiful Fight, The Newcomers, Blue Crush , or The Laws of Attraction, which are now cult. She also starred opposite Val Kilmer in Wonderland .
However, his career went through a period of decline. Her performance as Lois Lane in Superman Returns earned her a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. Her next feats of arms like Another Happy Day or Still Alice (in which she shares the screen with Kristen Stewart and the brilliant Julianne Moore), fail to bring her back up the slope despite some good reviews.
The most observant among you will have noticed that Kate has the charming particularity of having odd eyes, one blue and the other brown. Surely a characteristic that allowed her to pull out of the game as a model elsewhere. Finally, she is also a member of the Appalachia Service Project, a volunteer organization that repairs substandard housing located in the Appalachia region.
Meghan Markle
Formerly a member of the royal family of England and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle is also a publicity muse as well as an actress who grew up in Los Angeles. After obtaining her double degree in theater and international relations in 2003, she worked in Argentina at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires. But after failing a second exam, she devotes herself exclusively to her acting profession.
By dint of small roles, she has proven herself with film and television productions such as Remember Me, American Trip, CSI: Miami , the Suits series: tailor-made lawyers or How to kill your boss?
But what will really lift her to the forefront of the international scene is her marriage to Prince Harry in 2017, heir to the crown of England. She must then put her career on hold, and obtain tenfold media attention which increases her influence. She has spoken several times at One Young World and collaborates with the United Service Organizations, UN Women and the NGO World Vision, to raise awareness among the population on the themes of gender equality, women’s rights and even modern slavery.
Meghan and Harry will, however, end up emancipating themselves from English royalty and their diplomatic obligations in 2017, to become financially independent.
Ashley Judd
Actress and feminist activist born in the Granada Hills district of Los Angeles, Ashley Judd met with success thanks to her performance in Ruby in Paradise in 1993. Throughout her career, she alternated between psychological thriller and comedy, within films sometimes recognized by critics sometimes depreciated like Heat, The Collector, Double game, The Fall of the White House, Right of passage or Bug . She also joined the cast of the series Twin Peaks and Missing: at the heart of the conspiracy .
Due to a childhood marked by traumas linked to poverty, violence, abandonment or addictions, she is involved in various projects and humanitarian organizations such as Population service international with whom she will make a dozen trips to poor populations. , especially the poorest women and girls. Through her status as a YouthAids ambassador , in 2005 she founded an AIDS screening center in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ashley Judd is also a convinced feminist, and is one of the pioneers of the MeeToo movement , and her expeditions in Africa allow her to denounce the practice of rape as a weapon of war.
Jodie Foster
Born in 1962 in Los Angeles, Jodie Foster, like many others, began acting in her early youth. She joined the cast of her first series at the age of 6 with Mayberry, RFD , then was revealed in 1976 with Taxi Driver , which earned her an Oscar nomination. It is also on the set of this film that she grasps the full extent of the acting profession thanks to Robert de Niro.
After graduating in literature, she turned to cinema and over the years built up a solid filmography made up of 70 film and television productions as an actress, and a dozen films produced as a director.
Actress with recognized talents, she won many times the prize for best actress by the Oscars and the Golden Globes, in particular for The silence of the lambs, The Accused, Designated guilty, The girl at the end of the road or Contact . His successes also include Flight Plan, Alive , and Carnage. In addition, Jodie herself performed the dubbing of the French version of her films, since her studies in France enabled her to acquire a perfect command of French.
The actress generated some media attention after being stalked by John Warnock Hinckley Jr, a criminal who had developed an obsession with the California actress. He will even go so far as to attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan, the president at the time, to attract his attention. The guy was obviously not an expert in flirting, follow these tips instead.
Liza Minnelli
Coming from a long family of famous artists, Liza Minnelli grew up alongside her director father Vincente Minnelli, and her mother, actress Judy Garland. Constantly on the road from one shoot to another, especially after the divorce of her parents, Liza Minnelli suffered from a bad influence on the part of her mother who wanted to control everything and suffered from addiction, from which she unfortunately ended up inheriting.
She started her career at 16 with the musical Best Foot Forward . She will continue to distinguish herself with the films Pookie, Cabaret for which she will receive an Oscar for best actress, New York New York, Stepping Out or even Arthur . She also gives many concerts (notably with Charles Aznavour, to whom she is very close) in America, Europe, South America and Scandinavia.
Also known for her charisma and powerful alto voice, Liza performs many singles, the best known of which are You Are For Loving, New York New York, Losing My Mind and Love Pains . The artist born in Los Angeles is therefore part of the rare circle of artists to have accumulated an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar as well as a Tony. He was also awarded the Legion of Honor!
However, his private life will not be as successful as his professional life. After 4 unsuccessful marriages and a few lovers, a series of miscarriages unfortunately made her give up hope of having a child.
Diane Keaton
In 50 years in the business, Diane Keaton has established herself as a monument of American cinema. She has built an impressive filmography of around fifty films since the 1970s, including The Godfather, Manhattan, Crimes of the Heart, Baby Boom, Simple Secrets and Mad Money ; while diversifying her acting game. The actress from Los Angeles most often alternates between drama and comedy, so much so that the Times describes her as “The funniest woman in contemporary cinema”. She will also obtain a dozen awards for best actress (including 2 Golden Globe and 1 Oscar), thanks to her performances in Annie Hall, Interiors: in search of Mister Goodbar, Reds , and Anything can happen .
But Diane Keaton is also an actress with a keen artistic sense. She fell in love with photography, painting, vintage collage, and was passionate about singing although she never produced an album. In addition, her androgynous clothing style has made her an icon of fashion and feminism. L’Oréal, which has made her its muse, considers her to be “a model, initiator of trends for more than thirty years”.
On the heart side, Diane Keaton has developed a very complicit relationship with Warren Beatty, Woody Allen and Al Pacino, without their union ever really lasting. However, this will not prevent her from becoming a mother at fifty and adopting her daughter Dexter and her son Duke.
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow grew up in Beverly Hills in a family of 7 children, whose parents are both actors. She has been the interpreter of a good forty films in total, including Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and her sisters, Alice, Gatsby the Magnificent, or Crimes and misdemeanors . She received several awards, including a Golden Globe for her performances.
After her divorce with Franck Sinatra, she went into exile for some time in India where she notably learned transcendental meditation with the Beatles, and shared the life of Woody Allen for a dozen years. She will therefore take care of about fifteen children, 4 born of her different unions and adopted for the rest.
The Californian celebrity is also renowned for his humanitarian commitment. Ambassador to Unicef, she is committed to children’s rights and against poliomyelitis, especially in conflict regions in Africa. At the same time, she also became politically involved in the situation in Darfur.
Marilyn Monroe
Absolute symbol of Hollywood, the unforgettable Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jean Mortenson) has become a true icon of pop culture. However, the Los Angeles-born star’s legacy overshadows all the pain she may have endured in her lifetime. After having moved a dozen times, she is abandoned by her mother in an orphanage because of her dementia, an illness which Marilyn will be traumatized for the rest of her life.
Following a photo shoot in 1944 in an armament factory to promote the female war effort, she will become a model. By dint of magazines and commercials, Marilyn heads for the cinema after taking acting lessons. She therefore appeared on screen for the first time in 1947 in Bagarre pour une blonde . She will continue her career as a model and actress with films such as Men prefer blondes, The Prince and the Dancer, Les Désaxés , or Seven years of reflection , from which comes the cult scene her dress rising under a air flow. In total, his work includes around sixty films and songs.
However, glory and happiness are not necessarily synonymous, the proof is that she unfortunately made several suicide attempts. Considered a sex symbol, she suffered from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and chronic insomnia, which damaged her relationships as well as her 3 failed marriages.
The mysterious circumstances of his death only increased the media attention given to him, the suicide theory being refuted by some. Since then, many documentaries and films have paid tribute to her, and Marilyn Monroe remains engraved in legend.
If you’re interested in the female celebrity journey, be sure to check out this article on my 12 favorite redhead actresses.