Angelina Jolie was a star almost the moment she stepped in front of a camera, making her mark in several television productions before moving permanently to film, winning an Oscar before she turned 25. Since then Jolie's career has had some ups and downs but she remains a star and, assuming that Jon Voight continues to make... "colorful" statements in the press, by the time her career is over she may very well end up eclipsing her famous father as the most revered star in her family.
Ingrid Bergman was divine. Daughter Isabella Rossellini carries on that tradition without missing a beat. Rossellini doesn't have the major awards to show for it, the way the other stars on this list do, nor are her films as widely seen as those of the people on the rest of the list, but she does have one thing in her favor: that effortless quality of a star.
Lloyd Bridges was a beloved comedic actor. Jeff Bridges is "The Dude." He's also one of the most consistently solid actors working today, and has been ever since his first big role in The Last Picture Show in 1971. While the word "star" implies a certain level of flashiness that Bridges' more laconic acting style does not fall into, four decades and counting of success have to count for something.
Liza Minnelli was probably never going to fail to become a star. Her father, Vincente Minnelli, was one of the finest directors of his (or any) era, and her mother was Judy Garland, one of the most enduring movie stars of all time. In other circumstances Minnelli's somewhat unconventional (by Hollywood standards) looks might have held her back, but one would hope that with talent like hers she could have ascended no matter what. While Minnelli's career on the big screen has essentially been over for some time, she remains Hollywood royalty and a born and bred star.
Henry Fonda was one of the greatest stars of his generation. Jane Fonda is one of the greatest stars of her own generation, and has a couple of Oscars to her name to prove it. A divisive figure in some circles for her political views and the way that she expressed those views in her youth, Fonda is nevertheless one of the great second generation success stories and an actor who probably could have made it on the basis of her talent alone, even if she didn't have the famous name to fall back on.
3 comments:
Great list. Hard to argue with any of these. Some that could also be considered, though:
Josh Brolin
Drew Barrymore
Sofia Coppola
Kate Hudson
Keifer Sutherland
Charlie Sheen
Ben Stiller
Where's Michael Douglas?
Michael Douglas was on my long list... I suppose he is quite the omission given both his stature and that of his father. Drew Barrymore is third generation, otherwise she would have been on my long list, too.
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