The Most Versatile Actresses of All Time

Versatility in acting shows up in the work: roles that cut across genres, mediums, and cultural contexts; collaborations with filmmakers from different traditions; and credible shifts between leads, ensembles, and character parts. The actresses below have built bodies of work that stretch from intimate independent films to large-scale franchises, from stage to television, and from local-language productions to global hits.

This list focuses on concrete markers of range—documented genre jumps, multilingual or cross-industry careers, awards across formats, and professional training and collaborations—so you can trace exactly how each performer has demonstrated adaptability over time.

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep has worked across contemporary drama, period pieces, biopics, comedy, and musicals, taking on roles such as Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’, a fashion editor in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, and a culinary icon in ‘Julie & Julia’. Her musical and voice credits include ‘Mamma Mia!’, ‘Into the Woods’, and ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, and she has anchored ensemble projects like ‘Adaptation.’ and ‘Little Women’.

On television she has appeared in prestige limited series like ‘Angels in America’ and joined the ensemble of ‘Big Little Lies’. She holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for an actor, and her stage background at Yale and early work with Shakespeare in the Park underpin a technique that adapts to dialect-heavy roles and varied narrative styles.

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn moved between screwball comedy, adventure, and weighty drama, headlining films such as ‘Bringing Up Baby’, ‘The Philadelphia Story’, ‘The African Queen’, and ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’. She balanced quick-fire comic timing with later-career character studies and literary adaptations, often collaborating with directors like George Cukor and John Huston.

Her four Academy Awards for Best Actress remain a record. Beyond film, she sustained a significant stage career on Broadway, which included canonical works and new writing, and she alternated studio projects with theatre seasons to maintain range across performance styles.

Bette Davis

Bette Davis established a template for complex, uncompromising protagonists and antagonists across melodrama, noir, and Gothic-tinged thrillers, with landmark roles in ‘Jezebel’, ‘Now, Voyager’, ‘All About Eve’, and ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’. Under contract at Warner Bros., she fought for varied material and successfully transitioned from ingenue parts to formidable leads and character roles.

Her accolades include two Academy Awards and many nominations, and she briefly served as the first woman president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Davis also appeared in radio and early television dramas, extending her screen persona into multiple formats at a time when cross-medium work was uncommon.

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster’s career spans child stardom, international work, and adult leading roles in psychological thrillers, science fiction, courtroom drama, and historical stories, including ‘Taxi Driver’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Contact’, ‘Panic Room’, and ‘Anna and the King’. She is fluent in French and has acted in that language and dubbed her own performances for French releases.

As a director and producer, she has helmed features like ‘Little Man Tate’ and ‘Home for the Holidays’ and directed television episodes of ‘Black Mirror’, ‘House of Cards’, and ‘Orange Is the New Black’. A Yale graduate, she has combined studio films with independent projects and festival circuits, maintaining an active presence in both English- and French-speaking markets.

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett has alternated between historical drama, contemporary character studies, fantasy epics, and dark comedy, portraying figures such as Queen Elizabeth in ‘Elizabeth’, Katharine Hepburn in ‘The Aviator’, and a brittle socialite in ‘Blue Jasmine’. She has also taken on genre shifts with projects like ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, ‘Tár’, and ‘Carol’, moving between franchise filmmaking and auteur-driven cinema.

Her theatre leadership and performances with the Sydney Theatre Company include classic and contemporary repertory, and she has earned major film awards in both lead and supporting categories. Blanchett’s television work, including ‘Mrs. America’, extends her range into limited-series formats that emphasize long-arc character development.

Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton’s filmography crosses experimental art cinema and mainstream franchises, from ‘Orlando’ and ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ to ‘Michael Clayton’, ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’, ‘Snowpiercer’, and ‘Doctor Strange’. She has performed multi-role turns, including multiple characters in ‘Suspiria’, and she has collaborated extensively with filmmakers like Derek Jarman, Luca Guadagnino, and Bong Joon-ho.

Her work includes installation-based performance and museum pieces alongside commercial releases, and she frequently develops characters through costuming, prosthetics, and vocal modulation documented in production notes and press materials. Swinton’s multilingual collaborations have placed her in English-language and international co-productions across Europe and Asia.

Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand has led films across crime, satire, Western-adjacent Americana, and intimate road narratives, including ‘Fargo’, ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, and ‘Nomadland’, and she has played comic and dramatic ensemble roles in ‘Burn After Reading’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. Her recurring collaborations with the Coen brothers and with Chloé Zhao illustrate a career built on long-term creative partnerships.

She has achieved the Triple Crown of Acting—Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony—and received a Best Picture Oscar as a producer of ‘Nomadland’. McDormand’s television work in ‘Olive Kitteridge’ and extensive stage credits demonstrate sustained versatility across formats with documented recognition from major guilds and academies.

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet’s roles span epic romance, psychological drama, biographical storytelling, and science fiction, with performances in ‘Titanic’, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘The Reader’, ‘Steve Jobs’, and ‘Sense and Sensibility’. She has undertaken dialect-intensive parts and collaborated with filmmakers including Ang Lee, Danny Boyle, and James Cameron.

On television she has headlined acclaimed limited series such as ‘Mildred Pierce’ and ‘Mare of Easttown’, earning industry awards for both. Winslet’s credits also include animation and voice performances in titles like ‘Flushed Away’, and she has balanced studio features with independent films released through festival circuits.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis has a documented record across stage, film, and television, with major roles in ‘Fences’, ‘The Help’, ‘Widows’, and ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’. She trained at Rhode Island College and the Juilliard School and built an early career in theatre, earning top honors that translated into screen opportunities.

She is an EGOT recipient, with Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards recognizing work across mediums, and she led a long-running network drama in ‘How to Get Away with Murder’. Davis also co-founded JuVee Productions, developing projects that include historical and contemporary narratives anchored by research-based preparation.

Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz works in Spanish- and English-language cinema, moving between auteur dramas and Hollywood productions. Her collaborations with Pedro Almodóvar include ‘All About My Mother’, ‘Volver’, ‘Broken Embraces’, ‘Pain and Glory’, and ‘Parallel Mothers’, alongside international projects like ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’.

She has earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and multiple Goya Awards, and she has worked in Italian productions such as ‘Don’t Move’. Cruz’s filmography documents recurring roles that require Spanish, English, and Italian dialogue, and she frequently alternates lead performances with ensemble and supporting parts in multinational co-productions.

Isabelle Huppert

Isabelle Huppert has appeared in well over a hundred films and series, navigating French art-house drama, international thrillers, and English-language productions. Key titles include ‘The Piano Teacher’, ‘Elle’, ‘La Cérémonie’, ‘Greta’, and ‘Frankie’, and she has collaborated with directors such as Michael Haneke, Claire Denis, and Neil Jordan.

Her stage career runs in parallel with screen work, including leading roles at major European theatres and festival tours. Huppert has received multiple César Awards and two Cannes Best Actress prizes, reflecting a sustained presence in festival-oriented cinema as well as mainstream releases across Europe and the United States.

Gong Li

Gong Li’s career bridges mainland Chinese cinema and international productions, with central roles in ‘Raise the Red Lantern’, ‘The Story of Qiu Ju’, ‘Farewell My Concubine’, ‘Shanghai Triad’, and ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’. She has also worked in Hollywood and global co-productions, including ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’, ‘Miami Vice’, and ‘Hannibal Rising’.

Her long-running collaborations with Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are documented across multiple films that span historical epics, courtroom drama, and crime stories. Gong Li has served on major international festival juries and maintains a multilingual career, appearing in projects that require Mandarin and English dialogue across different markets.

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