(#1) Hermione Granger
Emma Watson, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Okay, so Emma Watson didn't win an Oscar for her first silver screen appearance like some of the lucky ladies on this list did. But, she did get to star in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time. Watson was just 11 years old when she played Hermione in the first Potter movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001.
The actress would go on to appear in all eight films of the series, and make a name for herself beyond the world of Potter as well.
(#2) Mary Poppins
Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins
Okay, so some actresses do get the role of a lifetime right off the bat. Julie Andrews appeared in a few television movies before getting her first big screen role as the titular character Mary Poppins in the 1964 smash hit.
To top it off, Andrews won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her supercalifragilistic performance.
(#3) Mathilda
Natalie Portman, Léon: The Professional
Natalie Portman has been a bad ass since before she was a teenager. The Academy Award winner has over 40 acting credits to her name, but one of her most memorable performances will always be that of Mathilda in Luc Besson's thriller Léon: The Professional.
Don't think a 12-year-old girl can be trained to become an assassin? Watch Mathilda become the perfect protege.
(#4) Lucy Diamond Dawson
Dakota Fanning, I Am Sam
Young Fanning was only seven years old when she took on her first major role in a film. She played opposite Sean Penn in the weepie drama about a mentally challenged man fighting for custody of his young daughter. The crazy part is that the child actor had already appeared on several hit television shows before I Am Sam hit theaters, including single episodes of ER, Ally McBeal, CSI, The Practice, Spin City, and Malcolm in the Middle. Talk about getting an early start!(#5) Dani Trant
Reese Witherspoon, Man in the Moon
Most actresses toil away in bit parts as they make their bones and work their way up the Hollywood ladder. Not Reese Witherspoon. Her first role was of leading lady. The Academy Award winner was just 15 years old when she was cast in the coming of age story Man in the Moon in 1991.(#6) Gidget
Sally Field, Gidget
Who doesn't love Sally Field? She made her television debut as the beach-loving, cute as buttons teenager Gidget in 1965. Since then, the talented actress has garnered two Academy Awards, and has over 60 acting credits to her name.(#7) Flora McGrath
Anna Paquin, The Piano
Anna Paquin was only 11 years old when she won an Oscar for her movie debut role as Flora in The Piano. Not a bad start for the actress, who would eventually become über-famous playing heroine Sookie Stackhouse on the popular HBO vampire drama True Blood.(#8) Fanny Brice
Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl
"Hello, gorgeous!" Barbara Streisand is one of only 12 artists to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Even more impressive is that the actress/singer/director/producer won an Academy Award playing Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, the first time she ever appeared on the big screen back in 1968.(#9) Fritzi Wagner
Anna Kendrick, Camp
She can sing, she can dance, she can act, and she looks super cute doing all those things. You may know the Academy Award nominated Anna Kendrick from popular films like Pitch Perfect and Into the Woods, but she started her career playing the not so cool kid at a musical camp, in a film called Camp back in 2003.(#10) Effie White
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Just imagine that you’re a singer by trade, do well in a reality show singing competition, and then earn the role of a lifetime. Now just think how great it would be if you won an Academy Award for your big screen debut. Sound too good to be true? The dream became a reality for Jennifer Hudson in 2006 for her portrayal of Effie White in the movie musical Dreamgirls. Check out the video of Hudson singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."
There is little doubt that her show-stopping performance of that song is what put her over the edge with the Academy.
(#11) Lisa Edwards
Sandra Bullock, Hangmen
The Academy Award winner got her big screen start in the 1987 thriller Hangmen. She would appear in several television shows and in small movie parts before finally becoming a household name in 1994 with her role as Annie in the big budget action hit Speed.
Bullock earned an Oscar for her performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy in 2009's biopic The Blind Side.
(#12) Laura Nelson
Scarlett Johansson, North
Scarlett Johansson was just seven years old when she made her big screen debut in the 1994 Rob Reiner comedy North. The blonde bombshell is now one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood with over 50 acting credits to her name, including indie hits like Lost in Translation and box office monsters like The Avengers.(#13) Hermia
Helen Mirren, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare sure isn't a bad place to start your film career! Mirren played Hermia in the 1968 film adaptation of the classic Shakespeare comedy, directed by Peter Hall. Of course, Mirren would go on to be everyone's favorite dame and won an Oscar in 2007 for her performance as Queen Elizabeth in The Queen.
(#14) The Bombshell
Michelle Pfeiffer, Delta House
Blonde bombshell Michelle Pfeiffer's first role as an actress came in the situation comedy version of the hit movie National Lampoon's Animal House called Delta House. She appeared as a character simply, but aptly, called "The Bombshell." The short-lived sitcom lasted only one season.
Pfeiffer made a total of eight appearances on the program in 1979. Her career would take off in 1983, when she starred opposite Al Pacino in Scarface.
(#15) Anne Marie
Meryl Streep, Julia
Oh, Meryl. Is there anything she can't do? The three-time Oscar winner dazzles audiences on the regular, disappearing into iconic role after iconic role. However, Streep got her start back in 1977 appearing alongside leading ladies Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave in the drama Julia, about the smuggling of funds into Nazi Germany.(#16) Tory Reding
Jennifer Aniston, Leprechaun
America's favorite friend worked pretty steadily in television, appearing on the short-lived sitcoms Molloy and Ferris Bueller, before taking on her first big screen role in the fantasy horror flick Leprechaun in 1993. The movie about a killer Leprechaun searching for his pot of gold was neither a critical nor a box office success.
However, just one year later, Aniston would land the role of Rachel Green on Friends. The actress would go on to become one of the biggest celebrity icons in the world.
(#17) Tiff
Jennifer Lawrence, Garden Party
Jennifer Lawrence made a couple of appearances on television, including spots on Monk and Medium, before her big screen debut as Tiff in the 2008 teenage coming of film Garden Party. JLaw was cast as a 15-year-old runaway with a nicotine habit.
Of course, the Academy Award-winning actress has gone on to appear in some of the biggest movies in film history, including The Hunger Games series.
(#18) Laurie Partridge
Emma Stone, The New Partridge Family
Emma Stone made her bones as Laurie in the 2005 television movie The New Partridge Family. The show was a reboot of the popular 1970s drama about a touring family band and Stone took on the part originally played by Susan Dey.
The Academy Award nominated actress already has over 30 acting credits to her name.
(#19) Nessa Watkins
Zooey Deschanel, Mumford
Before the adorkable Deschanel stole America's hearts on the hit sitcom New Girl, she made her feature film debut in the 1999 Lawrence Kasdan dramedy Mumford. If you get a chance to see the movie, you will certainly see a different side to the actress.
The cigarette-loving Nessa is definitely not the sweetest of characters.
(#20) Michael Francis Rizzi
Sofia Coppola, The Godfather
Academy Award winning writer/director Sofia Coppola actually got her start in front of the camera. Many know her for her turn as Mary Corleone in The Godfather III, however the first time audiences saw Coppola on the silver screen was back in 1972. She was the baby during the famous baptism scene inside the church at the end of The Godfather.
Of course, it was just a small part, and she was just a baby; she made the list because it is one of the most celebrated scenes and most innovative uses of cross-cutting in cinema history.
(#21) Rosie
Cate Blanchett, Parklands
One of the best Australian actresses of her time (or maybe ever) Blanchett is known for her two Oscar wins (for Blue Jasmine and The Aviator), bringing Galadriel to life in The Lord of the Rings, and for putting news reporters with dumb questions in their place.
However, her first major role was in the 1996 film Parklands, in which she tries to solve the mystery of her recently deceased father.
(#22) Leslie Miller
Amy Adams, Drop Dead Gorgeous
The five-time Oscar nominee got her silver screen start in 1999's Drop Dead Gorgeous, a black comedy, shot in mockumentary format, about a small town beauty pageant whose contestants literally begin to drop dead. You probably know Adams from her more acclaimed work in The Master, Junebug, and American Hustle.(#23) Ruby
Rosario Dawson, Kids
Rosario Dawson was thrown right into the fire for her first big screen role in 1995. She played Ruby in Kids, an independent film that is widely considered one of the most controversial and disturbing films of the past 50 years.
The actress has gone on to do some excellent work in films like 25th Hour, Rent, and Sin City.
(#24) Daryle
Julia Roberts, Satisfaction
Julia Roberts plays a left-handed bass in the all-girl band (except for one single dude) Mystery, in the 1988 coming of age musical Satisfaction. The Academy Award winner would have a very busy few years ahead after playing Daryle in her feature film debut. Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman, Flatliners, and Sleeping with the Enemy were all released in theaters before the end of 1991.(#25) Tosh Warner
Angelina Jolie, Lookin' to Get Out
Before she married Brad Pitt and became one of the biggest celebrities in the world, Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie got her start in the 1982 comedy Lookin' to Get Out. She appeared in the film, about two gamblers looking for a payday in Las Vegas, with her father, Jon Voight.(#26) Lanisha Brown
Kerry Washington, Our Song
The Scandal actress was 22 years old when she made her silver screen debut as 15 year old Lanisha Brown. Our Song was about a group of girls in a marching band who quickly needed to figure out a new plan after their high school had to be closed down for asbestos removal.(#27) Nina
Sofia Vergara, Big Trouble
Sure, you now know Sofia Vergara as Jay Prichett's smoking hot Latina wife, Gloria, on the hit sitcom Modern Family. However, the Colombian actress got her start in Hollywood as Nina in the 2002 comedy-crime movie Big Trouble.
Check out this cringe-inducing clip of Stanley Tucci licking Vergara's toes, and what she does when he tries to put her whole foot in his mouth.
(#28) Rhiannon
Christina Hendricks, Undressed
One of the world's hottest redheads certainly paid her dues before landing the breakout role of Joan on Mad Men. Her first television part came in 1999 on the MTV Anthology series Undressed, a show that examined various kinds of sexual relationships. Hendricks appeared in a total of four episodes.
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About This Tool
Who is your favorite actress? And which movie is the most impressive in your mind? There is nothing more perfect than your favorite actress played the best first role. Every star has their big break, and they all have to start somewhere. From TV shows, films to blockbuster franchises, a number of today's biggest actors and actresses are brilliant in their very first movie roles, that's so lucky.
This page displays 28 entries, including the best first roles played by your favorite actresses, such as the famous roles Lucy Diamond Dawson, Mathilda, Hermione Granger, and more, all of which are classic characters in the history of the movie.
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