Hollywood's Leading Ladies of the 1930's

A French born American film actress that started out in Broadway. She signed a contract in 1928 with Paramount Pictures and made several films, but it wasn't until 1934, with It Happened One Night that she cemented herself as one of Hollywood's most profitable actresses. The film was Paramount Pictures' biggest success until the 1980's.

Known for her screwball comedies. She portrayed the everyday heroine in Frank Capra's classics Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939). She was a very private and reclusive person, refusing to do any kind of publicity and declining interviews.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky; she started out her career in musical theater before making her film debut in 1930. She made several film classics, like Cimarron (1931), Back Street (1932), Show Boat (1936), Theodora Goes Wild (1936), The Awful Truth (1937) and Love Affair (1939), among many others.

Named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in Hollywood history. She was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. Her breakthrough role came in 1932 with the melodrama A Bill of Divorcement, which brought her critical acclaim and made her an instant star. She had several hit films in this decade, though she suffered a brief period when she, along with several other Hollywood stars, was labelled "box office poison". However, she was able to make a comeback by the early 1940's.

Even though her career began before the 1930's, she was at her most active during this decade making more than fifty films from 1930 to 1939. In the fifties, she made her move to television where she had an anthology series called The Loretta Young Show.

Notable for her roles in screwball comedies during this decade. She was the highest paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930's. Her biggest successes being Twentieth Century (1934), opposite John Barrymore, and My Man Godfrey (1936), opposite her ex-husband, William Powell. Unfortunately, her career and life was cut short by a plane crash in 1942. She was 33 years old at the time of her death.

A Swedish film actress and international icon. She started out her career in the 1920's during the silent film era. In the 1930's she was one of the few silent film stars to make the successful transition into "talkies". Her first "talkie" was Anna Christie (1930), it was a critical success and became the highest grossing film of the year. During this era she had a fanatical world wide following. This phenomenon, known as "Garbomania", reached its peak in 1931 with the releases of Mata Hari and Grand Hotel. Both films were huge successes both critically and financially. Her biggest hits in this decade also include, Queen Christina (1933), Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936) and Ninotchka (1939).

An American film and stage actress. Some of her film credits during this decade include, Rendezvous (1935), Craig's Wife (1936), Night Must Fall (1937) and the star studded, The Women (1939), opposite Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer and Paulette Goddard.

She started out her career as a stage actress before making the leap into film. Several of her hits include She Wanted a Millionaire (1932) and Me and My Gal (1932) both opposite Spencer Tracy. She also played Amy in Little Women (1933).

One of the most popular actresses of her time. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Divorcee (1930).

Like Garbo, she was able to make a successful transition from silent films to "talkies". Some of her hits in the 1930's include Red Dust (1932), The Kennel Murder Case (1933) and The Hurricane (1937).

An American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930's. Her film debut came when she replaced actress Greta Nissen in Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels (1930). She found stardom with MGM during 1932 and 1936, even though Louis B. Mayer was originally against the idea of signing her because he found her "floozy". Her career was cut short when she died in 1937 at the age of 26.

A German-born American actress, known for her exotic androgynous look. She broke through with her role as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel (1930). The role brought her worldwide recognition. She made several hit films during this decade, including, Morocco (1930), Blonde Venus (1932) and Shanghai Express (1932). She was one of the highest paid actresses of the era. Though for a brief period she was labelled "box office poison". However, she was able to make a comeback in 1939 with the western Destry Rides Again, opposite Jimmy Stewart.

Though her biggest success came in the "roaring twenties", she was able to transition smoothly from silent films to "talkies" and thus she was able to maintain her position as a top-box office draw and queen of Hollywood during the early 1930's. Though not as widely remembered as Greta Garbo or Lillian Gish, she was more popular in terms of box office dollars and consistently bringing audiences into theaters.

She made several films with legendary directors, Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra. She started out her career in Broadway as a Ziegfeld girl before eventually making her way into film. Several of her hit films in this decade include Ladies of Leisure (1930), Annie Oakley (1935) and Stella Dallas (1937).

One of the most popular actresses of the silent era, she made the transition to sound films as the primary actress for Fox Studios. Her most popular role came in 1937, in the film A Star Is Born, opposite Fredric Marsh. The role brought her notable success.

Known for her versatility, she had an illustrious career in the 1930's.

She began her acting career in Britain before moving to the United States to make her debut in Hollywood. Her most famous role was that of Cathy in Wuthering Heights (1939), opposite Laurence Olivier.

She was the first actress to win two consecutive Oscars. Though her career soon declined after this. She later remarked that her Oscar wins were the worst thing to happen to her career.

A groundbreaking Mexican actress. She was the first Latin American film star to be recognized internationally. Even though not as popular in her native Mexico as Maria Felix, she can be considered the most popular Mexican actress of her time due to her ability to crossover into Hollywood, something which Felix couldn't accomplish. She had several successful films in this decade, including Birds of Paradise (1932) and Flying Down to Rio (1933).

Born in New York City to a vaudeville family. She appeared in more than 100 movies and television productions during her career. She made several films with James Cagney, including The Public Enemy (1931) and Footlight Parade (1933).

Best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

Much like Dolores del Rio, she was one of the first Latin American actresses to break into Hollywood. She started out in bit parts in Hollywood productions before she progressed into leading roles. She made several comedies in this decade, and was known as "The Mexican Spitfire".

One of the biggest sex symbols of her era. She started in two films with Cary Grant, She Done Him Wrong (1933) and I'm No Angel (1933), the latter became the most profitable film of her career. By 1933, she was the eight largest U.S. box office draw.

She achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936. During this time she was the number one female star at Warner Brothers and was the highest paid film actress.

Perhaps best known for playing the female lead in King Kong (1933). Arguably the most famous horror film actress of her time. Her career spanned over 57 years.

Born in Helena, Montana, like a lot of other actresses on this list she started out in silent films before making the transition to sound. Her big break came in 1934 with the film The Thin Man, this was one of the biggest films of its year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film. Loy and her co-star, William Powell, proved to be so popular together that they were paired up again for another 13 films, becoming one of the most prolific pairings in Hollywood history. She also made four films with Clark Gable.

The most famous child actress of the 1930's, and one of the most famous child actresses of all time. She was the top box office draw four years in a row (1935-38). During the years she was active she made many hit films, including, Curly Top (1935) and Heidi (1937).

An American stage and film actress. She worked on four films with James Stewart, a partnership that proved popular. In 1938, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Three Comrades.

An American actress, singer and dancer, who made over 73 films during her long career. Her fame came when she was paired up with Fred Astaire in ten musical films as his romantic lead and dancing partner. Together the two revolutionized the genre. Among the classics she made with Astaire, the most memorable are: The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Swing Time (1935), Shall We Dance (1937) and Carefree (1938).

Davis' career took off in the mid 1930's with her critically acclaimed role as Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage (1934), the fact that she was not nominated for an Academy Award for her groundbreaking performance caused outrage among the public, critics and fellow actors. This lead to a change in Academy voting procedures. She followed her success with strong performances in Dangerous (1935), for which she won her first Academy Award, and The Petrified Forest (1936), alongside Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart. Her role as a spoiled Southern belle in Jezebel (1938), not only earned her a second Academy Award, but it also marked the beginning of the most successful phase of her career. She made other hit films before the end of this decade including: Dark Victory (1939), The Old Maid (1939) and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939).

Crawford started out her career in silent films before making a successful transition to sound. She proved to be a highly successful film star of the new era of sound pictures. In 1931, she starred opposite Clark Gable in the film Possessed. She followed this with a supporting role in the star studded Grand Hotel (1932), the film was a huge success. In 1933, she received top-billing in Dancing Lady (1933) which reunited her with Clark Gable. Life magazine named her the first "Queen of the Movies" in 1937, though soon after this her popularity began to decline. Crawford was labelled "box office poison" in 1938 by the Independent Film Journal, alongside other stars whose popularity was on the decline and had made several box office bombs. However, like most stars on the list, she was able to make a successful comeback in The Women (1939).