# Coolest dames in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992 "2008-11-30T00:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/1 "2008-11-30T00:41:44Z")
[ol] [li]Louise Brooks[/li][li]Greta Garbo[/li][li]Jeanne Moreau[/li][li]Bette Davis[/li][li]Simone Signoret[/li][li]Helen Mirren[/li][li]Jody Foster[/li][li]Maggie Cheung[/li][li]Cyd Charisse[/li][li]Judy Dench[/li][/ol] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/2 "2008-11-30T01:11:45Z")
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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY4zkWUTvQM). ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/3 "2008-11-30T01:23:47Z")
[Kate Hepburn](http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=a36565f0ab2abace&q=Kate+Hepburn++The+Philadelphia+Story+source:life&usg=__1pZuB-MIU_yxwlxZ3h42TbMtUj8=&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKate%2BHepburn%2B%2BThe%2BPhiladelphia%2BStory%2Bsource:life%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/4 "2008-11-30T01:30:11Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > [Kate Hepburn](http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=a36565f0ab2abace&q=Kate+Hepburn++The+Philadelphia+Story+source:life&usg=__1pZuB-MIU_yxwlxZ3h42TbMtUj8=&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKate%2BHepburn%2B%2BThe%2BPhiladelphia%2BStory%2Bsource:life%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG) 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. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/5 "2008-11-30T01:47:04Z")
Audrey Hepburn 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/6 "2008-11-30T01:52:14Z")
Myrna Loy. Nick & Nora Charles were the epitome of cool! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/7 "2008-11-30T01:53:35Z")
Ellen Burstyn ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/8 "2008-11-30T01:55:42Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > Myrna Loy. > > Nick & Nora Charles were the epitome of cool! 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\*. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/9 "2008-11-30T01:58:11Z")
Barbara Stanwyck! [nitpick]It’s _Jodie_ Foster[/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/10 "2008-11-30T01:59:40Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Audrey Hepburn 😃 Definitely not a dame. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/11 "2008-11-30T02:04:41Z")
did you remember Rosalind Russell? pretty darn cool. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/12 "2008-11-30T02:13:30Z")
Cameron Diaz ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/13 "2008-11-30T02:13:55Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Barbara Stanwyck! > > [nitpick]It’s _Jodie_ Foster[/nitpick] Man, I’m an idiot. Stanwyck definitely cracks the top ten. And I felt a twinge of misspelling when I typed “Jody,” but I didn’t check it. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/14 "2008-11-30T03:25:28Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/15 "2008-11-30T04:06:09Z")
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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je5caEFgAUI)? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/16 "2008-11-30T04:08:39Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > did you remember Rosalind Russell? pretty darn cool. 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. ETA again: **Susan Sarandon**? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/17 "2008-11-30T04:09:46Z")
“Dame” was just meant to be the female counterpart of “dude.” Don’t define it too narrowly: “cool” is the operative word here. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/18 "2008-11-30T04:34:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/19 "2008-11-30T04:38:44Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’m adding **Susan Hayward** to the list. And **Ruby Dee** and **Eve Arden**. I’ll buy Hayward. Eve Arden’s a good one too. I’ve only see Ruby Dee in a few things though, I don’t have much sense of her really. Ruth Gordon? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992/20 "2008-11-30T06:58:37Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Judy Dench Indeed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-dames-in-movies/474992.md?page=2)