• Anna May Wong

    Anna May Wong

    Anna May Wong (1905-1961) was Hollywood's first Chinese American movie star. In fact, for several decades she was Hollywood's only Chinese American movie star, such was the pervasive racism of the ...

  • Audrey Hepburn

    Audrey Hepburn

    Dressing up as Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) is easy, since there's a licensed costume that perfectly duplicates her fabulous ensemble in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her role as Holly Golightly was ...

  • Billie Holiday

    Billie Holiday

    "Lady Day is unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years," said Frank Sinatra back in 1958, and he was right. Billie Holiday (1915-1959) changed ...

  • Diana Ross

    Diana Ross

    This is vintage Diana Ross, you understand: Diana Ross as a Supreme. Not only were The Supremes the top American singing group of the 60s, but they were also style leaders. Glamour was always ...

  • Dorothy Dandridge

    Dorothy Dandridge

    Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965) was a dynamo of talent and beauty who became the first African American nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Her starring role in Carmen Jones launched her into the ...

  • Grace Kelly

    Grace Kelly

    Before she married Prince Rainier of Monaco, Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was an Oscar-winning actress at the very top of the Hollywood game. On-screen she played cool beauties; off-screen she was ...

  • Jean Harlow

    Jean Harlow

    Jean Harlow (1911-1937) was the first Hollywood blonde bombshell. Everything about her style was designed to play up her platinum blonde looks: white satin gowns, white furs, white feathers, white ...

  • Josephine Baker

    Josephine Baker

    Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was the original superstar diva. She left behind the racism of the United States to become a sensation in France, where she was celebrated as one of the most glamorous ...

  • Madhubala

    Madhubala

    Many stars have died before their time, but they were usually felled by drugs or alcohol. Not Madhubala (1933-1969). Her tragedy was of a different sort: she was born with a heart defect that ...

  • Mae West

    Mae West

    Mae West (1893-1980) was ahead of her time. Way ahead of her time. She's probably remembered primarily as a zaftig sex symbol, but she was so much more than that. She was a playwright, ...

  • Marlene Dietrich

    Marlene Dietrich

    When Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) appeared in white tie and tails in the 1930 film Morocco, audiences were mesmerized. It's an incredible entrance: she strolls onto the stage with insouciant ...

  • Rita Hayworth

    Rita Hayworth

    Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was born Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of a professional flamenco dancer from Spain. Trained as a dancer herself, she started out in Hollywood doing bit parts. ...