New York has given the world some of the most unforgettable actresses in film history. From Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Jamestown, these performers brought intelligence, toughness, humor, elegance, and that unmistakable New York edge to the screen. This list of essential New York film actresses celebrates the women whose greatest movie roles became part of American film history while still carrying the energy of the state that shaped them.
Rita Hayworth from Gilda trailer. Public Domain Image
Our Top 15 Essential New York Film Actresses and Their Greatest Roles article looks at the films that New York-born and raised actresses released throughout their remarkable careers. Just like our Top 15 Essential New York Film Actors and Their Greatest Roles list, this article searches for the actresses who brought a New York attitude or sensibility to their roles.
New York is a large state that encompasses a variety of towns and cities, each with distinct cultures and populations. However, New Yorkers share a bond that only New Yorkers can understand. Many of us who were born and raised in New York can instantly spot an actress on television or in film who is from New York, even without any prior knowledge of where she was born. It is a sense we have, just like people from other parts of the world share with their own native neighbors.
There are so many wonderful actresses who come from New York. Choosing only 15 is no easy task. However, that is what makes writing these lists so much fun. Let us know who you think we missed. We would love to hear from you.
Some of the 15 essential New York film actresses also enjoyed tremendous success in television. However, their careers in film should not be ignored because of their television success. We start and end our Top 15 Essential New York Film Actresses article with performers who enjoyed incredible careers both on television and on the silver screen.
# 15 – Patty Duke
Born: December 14, 1946, Queens, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker (1962)
Patty Duke earns her place on this list through one of the most powerful performances ever delivered by a young actress. Born in Queens, Duke brought extraordinary emotional force to the role of Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. Her work in the film remains an astonishing performance because of its physical intensity, discipline, and emotional honesty.
# 14 – Marisa Tomei
Born: December 4, 1964, Brooklyn, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Mona Lisa Vito, My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Marisa Tomei’s performance as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny is one of the great New York movie performances of the modern era. Tomei brought humor, intelligence, confidence, and Brooklyn attitude to a role that could have easily been played as a simple comic side character. Instead, she turned Mona Lisa Vito into the smartest person in the courtroom and one of the most memorable film characters of the 1990s.
# 13 – Scarlett Johansson
Born: November 22, 1984, New York City, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Nola Rice, Match Point (2005)
Scarlett Johansson has built one of the most successful film careers of her generation. Born in New York City, Johansson brought mystery, beauty, danger, and vulnerability to the role of Nola Rice in Match Point. It remains one of those performances that showed how effectively she could command a film through atmosphere as much as dialogue.
# 12 – Rosario Dawson
Born: May 9, 1979, New York City, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Elizabeth Lamb, Trance (2013)
Rosario Dawson has always carried a distinctly New York presence on screen. Her role as Elizabeth Lamb in Trance gave her a chance to play a character wrapped in mystery, intelligence, and psychological tension. Dawson’s career has moved across independent film, action films, dramas, and television, but her screen presence has always retained that direct New York energy.
# 11 – Lorraine Bracco
Born: October 2, 1954, Brooklyn, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Karen Friedman Hill, Goodfellas (1990)
Lorraine Bracco’s performance as Karen Friedman Hill in Goodfellas remains one of the defining supporting performances in modern crime cinema. Born in Brooklyn, Bracco brought fire, fear, confidence, and vulnerability to a character who was pulled into a world of money, danger, and power. Her narration and performance gave the film one of its most important emotional perspectives.
# 10 – Angela Bassett
Born: August 16, 1958, New York City, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Anna Mae Bullock/Tina Turner, What’s Love Got To Do With It (1993)
Angela Bassett’s performance as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It stands as one of the great biographical performances in film history. Born in New York City, Bassett gave the role everything, the voice, the movement, the pain, the strength, and the triumph. It was the type of performance that made audiences feel the entire arc of a life, not just the highlights.
# 9 – Anne Hathaway
Born: November 12, 1982, Brooklyn, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Kym Buchman, Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Anne Hathaway’s role as Kym Buchman in Rachel Getting Married proved that she could move far beyond lighter mainstream roles and deliver a performance filled with raw emotion and difficult truths. Born in Brooklyn, Hathaway brought volatility, guilt, pain, and intelligence to the role. It remains one of the performances that reshaped the way many people viewed her as an actress.
# 8 – Whoopi Goldberg
Born: November 13, 1955, New York City, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Oda Mae Brown, Ghost (1990)
Whoopi Goldberg’s performance as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost delivered the perfect blend of comedy, soul, and emotional timing. Born in New York City, Goldberg had already established herself as a major talent before the film, but Ghost gave her one of her most beloved roles. She made Oda Mae funny, frightened, bold, and deeply human.
# 7 – Susan Sarandon
Born: October 4, 1946, Queens, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Annie Savoy, Bull Durham (1988)
Susan Sarandon has enjoyed one of the most respected acting careers of her generation. Born in Queens, Sarandon brought intelligence, wit, sensuality, and command to the role of Annie Savoy in Bull Durham. It is a performance that captures the humor and romantic pull of baseball while giving the film its sharpest and most memorable voice.
# 6 – Anne Bancroft
Born: September 17, 1931, the Bronx, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Mrs. Robinson, The Graduate (1967)
Anne Bancroft’s performance as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate became one of the most iconic roles in American film. Born in the Bronx, Bancroft brought complexity, sadness, control, and danger to a character who could have been reduced to a simple symbol. Instead, she made Mrs. Robinson unforgettable, and the performance still holds its power decades later.
# 5 – Lauren Bacall
Born: September 16, 1924, the Bronx, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Hannah Morgan, The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
Lauren Bacall was one of the great screen presences of classic Hollywood. Born in the Bronx, Bacall built a career on intelligence, style, confidence, and that unforgettable voice. While many fans may point to earlier classics, her role as Hannah Morgan in The Mirror Has Two Faces showed how much grace and emotional depth she could still bring to the screen later in her career.
# 4 – Sigourney Weaver
Born: October 8, 1949, New York City, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Ellen Ripley, Alien (1979)
Sigourney Weaver’s role as Ellen Ripley in Alien changed science fiction and action cinema forever. Born in New York City, Weaver brought intelligence, strength, and survival instinct to a role that became one of the most important female characters in film history. Ripley was tough without being cartoonish, vulnerable without being weak, and completely unforgettable.
# 3 – Barbra Streisand
Born: April 24, 1942, Brooklyn, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Esther Hoffman, A Star Is Born (1976)
Barbra Streisand’s career has crossed music, film, theater, directing, and producing, but her screen presence has always carried the unmistakable confidence of Brooklyn. Her performance as Esther Hoffman in A Star Is Born gave her one of her signature film roles. Streisand brought voice, vulnerability, and star power to a story about love, fame, and artistic ambition.
# 2 – Rita Hayworth
Born: October 17, 1918, Brooklyn, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Gilda Mundson Farrell, Gilda (1946)
Rita Hayworth’s role as Gilda Mundson Farrell in Gilda remains one of the most famous screen performances of the 1940s. Born in Brooklyn, Hayworth became one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars, but Gilda gave her an image and a role that would follow her forever. The performance combined beauty, mystery, vulnerability, and danger in a way that helped define classic film noir glamour.
# 1 – Lucille Ball
Born: August 6, 1911, Jamestown, New York
Most Essential Movie Role: Tacy Bolton-Collini, The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
Lucille Ball stands at number one because her career remains one of the most important in twentieth-century entertainment. Born in Jamestown, New York, Ball became a television legend, but her film work should never be overlooked. Her role as Tacy Bolton-Collini in The Long, Long Trailer captured the timing, physical comedy, warmth, and charm that made her beloved by generations. She was not just a television icon. She was a New York performer who helped shape American comedy.
More New York Film And Culture Stories
If you enjoy stories about New York performers and culture, take a look at our features on Top 15 Essential New York Film Actors and Their Greatest Roles, the history of Café Wha?, the Flatiron Building, and Real New Yorkers Photo Series.
Article updated June 28, 2026.
