List of legends of American film history
AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars is the American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history and is the second list of the AFI 100 Years... series.
The list was unveiled through a CBS special on June 15, 1999, hosted by Shirley Temple (who is herself honored on the female legends list), with 50 then-current actors making the presentations.
AFI defines an "American screen legend" as "an actor or a team of actors with a significant screen presence in American feature-length films (films of 40 minutes or more) whose screen debut occurred in or before 1950, or whose screen debut occurred after 1950 but whose death has marked a completed body of work." In other words, the list generally honors actors recognized for their contributions to classical Hollywood cinema. Jurors selected the final lists from 250 male and 250 female nominees.
When the lists were unveiled, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall, Kirk Douglas and Sidney Poitier were alive, but have since died. As of 2025, at age , Sophia Loren is the sole surviving star.
Nominees.
The legends were chosen out of a list of 250 male and 250 female nominees. The adjoining reference gives the lists of the original selection.
With the death of Sidney Poitier in January 2022, all male living legends and nominees have now died. There is one surviving female living legend, Sophia Loren (), and 4 remaining female nominees: Ann Blyth (), Claire Bloom (), Rita Moreno () and Margaret O'Brien (). The most recent nominee to die is Mitzi Gaynor, aged 93, in October 2024.
The 250 male nominees.
The actors that are part of the complete list of nominees are:
The 250 female nominees.
The actresses that are part of the complete list of nominees are:
NOTE: Those listed in bold indicate that the star is still living.
Notes.
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References.
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