Who is the best female TV star of all time? Our new photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 30 greatest actresses and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?
With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every woman in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading lady at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actresses as Vivian Vance, Doris Roberts or Rhea Perlman.
In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics), quantity (number of shows and TV appearances), Emmy wins and nominations, plus overall legacy and iconic nature. They also needed to be on television regularly for at least the last 15 years or more. That knocked out some very fine actresses who’ve only just begun their TV careers in the past decade or so.
Among the ladies in our rankings are several that have been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in the past 35 years. They are Beatrice Arthur, Lucille Ball, Candice Bergen, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Angela Lansbury, Cloris Leachman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mary Tyler Moore, Dinah Shore, Jean Stapleton, Betty White and Oprah Winfrey. Some of the younger actresses in our gallery are Gillian Anderson, Tina Fey, Lauren Graham, Mariska Hargitay, Helen Hunt and Julianna Margulies.
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30. Julia Child
Image Credit: Jon Chase/AP/Shutterstock Star of “The French Chef,” “The Way to Cook,” “In Julia’s Kitchen,” “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.” 3-time Emmy nominee with 1 win (prime-time). 5-time Emmy nominee with 2 wins (daytime).
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29. Dinah Shore
Image Credit: Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show,” “Dinah’s Place,” “Dinah!” 10-time Emmy nominee with 5 wins (prime-time). 7-time Emmy nominee with 2 wins (daytime). TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1991.
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28. Amy Poehler
Image Credit: Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock Star of “Saturday Night Live,” ‘Parks and Recreation.” 21-time Emmy nominee with 1 win.
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27. Cicely Tyson
Image Credit: Gary Boas/Retna Ltd/Shutterstock Star of “Sweet Justice,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” numerous TV movies. 15-time Emmy nominee with 3 wins (prime-time). 1-time Emmy nominee with no wins (daytime).
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26. Helen Hunt
Image Credit: Bei/Shutterstock Star of “Mad About You,” “Shots Fired.” 8-time Emmy nominee with 4 wins.
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25. Lauren Graham
Image Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock Star of “Gilmore Girls,” “Parenthood.” No Emmy nominations.
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24. Mariska Hargitay
Image Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock Star of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” 8-time Emmy nominee with 1 win.
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23. Elizabeth Montgomery
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Star of “Bewitched,” numerous TV movies. 9-time Emmy nominee with no wins.
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22. Gillian Anderson
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Star of “The X-Files,” “Bleak House,” “The Fall,” “Hannibal,” “Sex Education.” 5-time Emmy nominee with 1 win.
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21. Alfre Woodard
Image Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock Star of “St. Elsewhere,” “Desperate Housewives,” “True Blood,” numerous TV movies. 18-time Emmy nominee with 4 wins.
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20. Julianna Margulies
Image Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock Star of “E.R.,” “The Good Wife.” 10-time Emmy nominee with 3 wins.
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19. Cloris Leachman
Image Credit: Sal Veder/AP/Shutterstock Star of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Phyllis,” “The Facts of Life,” “Raising Hope.” 22-time Emmy nominee with 8 wins (prime-time). 1-time Emmy winner (daytime). TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.
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18. Susan Lucci
Image Credit: Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “All My Children.” 21-time Emmy nominee with 1 win (daytime).
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17. Diahann Carroll
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “Julia,” “Dynasty,” “The Colbys,” “A Different World.” 4-time Emmy nominee (prime-time) and 1-time Emmy nominee (daytime). TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.
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16. Candice Bergen
Image Credit: Globe Photos/mediapunch/Shutterstock Star of “Murphy Brown,” “Boston Legal.” 9-time Emmy nominee with 5 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2010.
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15. Edie Falco
Image Credit: Jennifer Weisbord/Shutterstock Star of “The Sopranos,” “Nurse Jackie.” 14-time Emmy nominee with 4 wins.
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14. Allison Janney
Image Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock Star of “The West Wing,” “Masters of Sex,” “Mom.” 14-time Emmy nominee with 7 wins.
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13. Tina Fey
Image Credit: Stan Seymour/Shutterstock Star of “Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock.” 44-time Emmy nominee with 9 wins.
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12. Ellen DeGeneres
Image Credit: Michael Becker/American Idol Prod/Fox Tv Network/Fremantle Media North America/Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “Ellen,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” 15-time Emmy nominee with 1 win (prime-time). 53-time Emmy nominee with 31 wins (daytime).
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11. Beatrice Arthur
Image Credit: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock Star of “Maude,” “The Golden Girls.” 11-time Emmy nominee with 2 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2008.
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10. Angela Lansbury
Image Credit: Bei/Shutterstock Star of “Murder, She Wrote.” 18-time Emmy nominee with no wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1996.
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9. Tyne Daly
Image Credit: Globe Photos/mediapunch/Shutterstock Star of “Cagney and Lacey,” “Christy,” “Judging Amy.” 16-time Emmy nominee with 6 wins.
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8. Lily Tomlin
Image Credit: American Photo Syndicate Aa/Shutterstock Star of “Laugh-In,” “Murphy Brown,” “Grace and Frankie,” TV variety specials. 25-time Emmy nominee with 6 wins.
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7. Jean Stapleton
Image Credit: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock Star of “All in the Family,” “Archie Bunker’s Place.” 10-time Emmy nominee with 3 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2002.
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6. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Image Credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock Star of “Saturday Night Live,” “Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Veep.” 26-time Emmy nominee with 11 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 2014.
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5. Betty White
Image Credit: Globe Photos/mediapunch/Shutterstock Star of “Life with Elizabeth,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Betty White Show,” “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland.” 20-time Emmy nominee with 5 wins (prime-time). 2-time Emmy nominee with 1 win (daytime). TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1995.
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4. Oprah Winfrey
Image Credit: Walter McBride/Shutterstock Star of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” 7-time Emmy nominee with 1 win (prime-time). 26-time Emmy nominee with 16 wins (daytime). TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1993.
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3. Carol Burnett
Image Credit: Punkin/Whacko Inc/Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Garry Moore Show.” 24-time Emmy nominee with 6 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1985.
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2. Mary Tyler Moore
Image Credit: Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” 15-time Emmy nominee with 7 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1986.
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1. Lucille Ball
Image Credit: Kobal/Shutterstock Star of “I Love Lucy,” “The Lucy Show,” “Here’s Lucy.” 13-time Emmy nominee with 4 wins. TV Hall of Fame inductee in 1984.
