People I thought of while doing this list, but don’t quite crack the top ten for me (in no particular order): Sigourney Weaver, Joan Crawford, Meryl Streep, Christina Ricci, Audrey Hepburn, Norma Shearer, Joan Blondell, Lori Petty, Linda Hamilton, Lauren Bacall, Hedy Lamarr, Jane Darwell.
When you say “coolest dame,” are you talking about the actress or the characters she plays? Because I’ve always appreciated Jody Foster, but I’ve never thought of her characters as being particularly cool.
I agree with Garbo being up there, but I’d put Lauren Bacall quite a bit higher on your list. If only for this scene.
I thought of her, but there was so often something kind of fluttery about her performances. I’ll give you* Pat and Mike*, but she had a kind of brittle, vaguely hysterical affect, in my mind, that keeps her off my list.
Don’t know why I didn’t think of her. I’m not sure she’d crack my top ten, but she definitely belongs somewhere in this thread. She’s at her coolest in The Best Years of Our Lives and* Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House*.
My first thought upon reading the OP was “the broad from The Thin Man”, whose name I couldn’t recall. Thank you **Bumbershoot **for coming up with Myrna Loy for me…
I problem I have with this question is the use of the word “dame” in the OP. To me, a “dame” means one of two things:
A venerated British woman
A no-nonsense, take charge kind of woman, with a certain…je ne sais quoi
By the second definition, Myrna Loy, Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn are “dames”. Jodie Foster, Audrey Hepburn, Cameron Diaz, not “dames”. They might play powerful characters, women of authority, but they aren’t “dames”.
Helen Mirren qualifies on both counts
Just my 2 cents…
In other words…as far as the OP’s concerned, does “dame” just mean “female character/actor,” or does she outright have to act like something close to the lady in this clip?
I’d agree with this, but what about the ferociously needy spinster she played in Picnic? That was a great character (the best part of the movie) but I always feel a bit sorry for Arthur what’s his name.
I’m adding Susan Hayward to the list. And Ruby Dee and Eve Arden.
ETA: How could I forget Joanne Woodward. I wonder how she’s getting on.
It’s the word “cool” that’s hanging me up. I can think of lots of actresses who I’d consider cool in the “hip, young, fashionable” sense, a good number who are cool in the poised and unflappable sense, but few who are cool in the way that Steve McQueen or Humphrey Bogart are cool. Sigourney Weaver is definitely one, though.
