The 1990s is the decade known as the period that marked the end of the Cold War and contained advances in technology, including the internet. The ’90s brought significant developments in cinema and carried on traditional trends from the 1980s low-budget independent films that maintained their popularity throughout the decade. During the ’90s, full-length films were made to be displayed both on theater screens and smaller TV screens, featuring dialog with close-up scenes instead of wide-angle scenes made for theaters. Home-videos rose in popularity, and the home-video market increased the total revenue for a film, frequently doubling its total income. The decade also cultivated the rise of independent cinema, and advancements in CGI-technology used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, and more.
The 1990s presented many incredible performances by actresses who made an impact in cinema and are still as beloved and prominent in the present day. The best actresses of the 1990s have received widespread recognition and awards for their work on the big screen, portraying some of the most iconic roles in classic movies. From gracing us with their performances, to standing the test of time and becoming cinema icons, here are the most popular actresses of the 1990s, ranked.
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10 Meg Ryan
TriStar Pictures
Meg Ryan began acting in 1981 and became popular in the Nineties. Her filmography during the decade included Joe Versus the Volcano, The Doors, Sleepless in Seattle, When a Man Loves a Woman; French Kiss, Courage Under Fire, Addicted to Love, Anastasia, You’ve Got Mail, and City of Angels, among others. On her career working as an actress, Ryan said, “I don’t feel like, naturally, I’m a performer. I knew I was being given opportunities and that there was certain music I could play as an actor. Certain things I could do. And I liked acting. I thought it was fun. But acting was a situation I was navigating… I think the feeling with Hollywood was mutual. I felt done when they felt done, probably.”
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9 Angelina Jolie
HBO
Angelina Jolie began acting alongside her father in 1982 and became popular during the Nineties. Her filmography during the decade included Cyborg 2, Hackers, Love Is All There Is, Mojave Moon, George Wallace, Playing God, Hell’s Kitchen, Playing by Heart, Gia, and Girl, Interrupted; which earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jolie said, “When my mother died, I realized how much my being an actress was linked to her desire to be an actress herself, and especially what satisfaction it brought her when she saw me on-screen. Once she was gone, I didn’t feel the same attraction for it. What I really like is to be behind the camera, to put others into the light. Being in the spotlight’s shine doesn’t interest me.”
8 Demi Moore
Paramount Pictures
Demi Moore made her film debut in 1981 in Choices, then became more popular throughout the ’90s, appearing in the films A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, Disclosure, The Scarlet Letter, The Juror, G.I. Jane, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and more. On becoming an icon, Moore said, “To hear that in relation to yourself seems a bit out-of-body. I feel flattered and a bit like, that doesn’t feel like me, but I like it. To me, what an icon has always signified is somebody who’s paved a way and marked something that has moved people or had [an] impact that has been positive. And in that regard, I feel really proud to be put in a category that would be related to that.”
7 Sandra Bullock
Warner Bros. Pictures
Sandra Bullock is an actress, producer, and the recipient of widespread recognition, nominations, and awards including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. During the ’90s, Bullock appeared in Love Potion No. 9, The Vanishing, When the Party’s Over, While You Were Sleeping, A Time to Kill, Hope Floats, Practical Magic, and more. On her acting career, Bullock said, “Work has always been steady for me, and I’ve been so lucky. I realized it possibly was becoming my crutch. It was like opening up a fridge all the time and looking for something that was never in the fridge… I take my job very seriously when I’m at work. And I just want to be 24/7 with my babies and my family”.
6 Julia Roberts
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Julia Roberts was one of the most popular actresses in the ’90s for her work in a variety of film genres, and became the world’s highest-paid actress throughout the decade. During the ’90s, Roberts starred in Pretty Woman, Hook, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Pelican Brief, Something to Talk About, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, and more. Roberts said of her acting career, “It just never consumed me, being an actor. It is my dream come true. But it is not my only dream come true… The life that I’ve built with my husband… The life that we’ve built with our children… that’s the best stuff… The point is to come home at the end of the day triumphantly to them."
5 Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon began acting in 1970 with the drama film Joe, and has since received accolades and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work spanning decades. Her filmography from the ’90s earned her Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Client, and Dead Man Walking. During the Nineties, she also appeared in White Palace, Little Women, James and the Giant Peach, Stepmom, Anywhere but Here, and Cradle Will Rock. Sarandon received the Women in Film Crystal Award in 1994, and earned eight Golden Globe nominations, including for White Palace and Stepmom. Sarandon said, “Very often, for me, acting is like loving; it’s using the muscle that you use in loving, in that your heart feels open.”
4 Winona Ryder
20th Century Studios
Winona Ryder made her film debut in Lucas in 1986, and became more popular during the ’90s with Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, Dracula and more. Ryder also received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role from the Golden Globes and National Board Review. On developing her love of movies, Ryder said, “I used to put the strap of my book bag across my forehead. I’d sort of walk and force myself to see things in black and white, like a movie. I created this whole kind of fantasy world. There was an old theater I loved, and I used to fantasize about living there. Like, ripping out the seats and having a bed and a bathtub and a bike and watching movies all the time.”
3 Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone made her film debut in The Crush in 1993, and was honored for her performance at the 1994 MTV Movie Award, earning the award for Best Breakthrough Performance. Silverstone then garnered more popularity starring in the music video for Aerosmith’s “Cryin”, in the film Clueless in 1995, and Batman & Robin in 1997. Silverstone said, “When I was younger, pre-Clueless, I was very shy, but I was very real, which is why I got parts… Once I started working in theater something came out of me… I became more of a woman, I was no longer a quiet little girl, and that has a lot to do with growing-up… I wasn’t preparing for fame, and I never wanted it. I loved acting because it was a form of therapy.”
2 Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore achieved fame as a child actor in the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. She has also received a Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award and seven Emmy Awards. During the ’90s, she starred in Poison Ivy, Batman Forever, Scream, The Wedding Singer, Home Fries, Ever After, Never Been Kissed, and more. Barrymore said, “I stopped doing movies when my kids were born, because I’ve done it since I was in diapers, at 11 months old is when I started, and it was a no brainer to me to put making movies on a back-burner so that I can be present and raise my kids myself”.
1 Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer’s acting career has spanned over four decades, and she became one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses during the ’90s, including being recognized as the decade’s sex symbol. During the ’90s, Pfeiffer starred in Batman Returns, Love Field, Frankie and Johnny, The Age of Innocence, Wolf, Dangerous Minds, Up Close & Personal, and more. She has received a Golden Globe Award, British Academy Film Award, and nominations for Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Pfeiffer said, “I’ve never lost my love for acting. I feel really at home on the movie set. I’m a more balanced person honestly when I’m working… I’m more open now, my frame of mind, because I really want to work now, because I can.”
