Beauty Through the Decades: 40's

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Hollywood starlets continued to set the trends in women's fashion. Longer, more feminine hairstyles became popular again, and women immediately copied Bette Davis' curls, Betty Grable's topknot with ringlets, and Rita Hayworth's gleaming waves. Veronica Lake created a sensation by wearing a lock of hair that covered one eye. The hairstyle that most symbolized the era, however, was parted on the side, with soft curls falling over the shoulder. Also, for the first time, tanned skin (for both men and women) began to be perceived as a symbol of high class — again showing the influence of screen stars on standards of beauty.

 Veronica Lake (American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle.)

 Ann Sheridan (American film actress)

 Bette Davis (American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas.)

 Betty Grable (was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World". Grable was particularly noted for having the most beautiful legs in Hollywood and studio publicity widely dispersed photos featuring them. Hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of her legs as: thigh (18.5") calf (12"), and ankle (7.5"). Grable's legs were famously insured by her studio for $1,000,000 with Lloyds of London.)

 Esther Williams (retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star)

Evelyn Ankers (British actress born in Chile. She often played variations on the role of the cultured young leading lady in many American horror films during the 1940s)

 Ingrid Bergman (Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute. She is best remembered for her role as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca (1942), a World War II drama co-starring Humphrey Bogart.)

 Judy Garland (American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe Award, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her work in films, as well as Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.)

 Katherine Hepburn (American actress of film, stage, and television)

 Lana Turner (American actress. Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget (1937). She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). During the early 1940s she established herself as a leading actress in such films as Johnny Eager (1941), Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), and her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, in such films as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.)

 Lauren Bacall (American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.)

 Loretta Young (American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the 1948 best actress Academy Award for her role in the 1947 film The Farmer's Daughter, and received an Oscar nomination for her role in Come to the Stable, in 1950.)

 Rita Hayworth (American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era's top stars, but also as a great sex symbol, most notably in Gilda (1946). She appeared in 61 films over 37 years and is listed as one of the American Film Institute's Greatest Stars of All Time.)

 Vivien Leigh was an English actress famous for playing Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's film "Gone with the Wind".

 Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias.

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P.S. Dear Earthling, if i've forgot somebody beautiful and important of this time period - please do not keep silence! Leave Comments, telling me who should also be in the list. Merci.