Every renowned actress had the first part, and those roles weren't always beautiful. It's hard to imagine that the vast number of movie stars on this list had to start at the bottom of the Hollywood ladder and work their way up. Except for Jennifer Hudson and Julie Andrews, the majority of them weren't. The two fortunate ladies received an Academy Award for their first on-screen appearances. But there are the outliers; most of your favorite actresses started by taking on minor roles in films or television.
We may have omitted minor roles at the beginning of their careers from this list, such as uncredited roles or characters with scant to no speaking roles. This list, however, focuses mainly on the first occasion we witnessed these females in action.
1. Hermione Granger
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Unlike some of the other lucky women on our list, Emma Watson didn't receive an Oscar for her first appearance on the big screen. However, she got to lead one of the most successful film series ever. Watson made her acting debut as Hermione in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when she was barely 11. The actress would participate in all eight of the series' movies and establish a reputation for herself outside the Harry Potter universe.
2. Mary Poppins
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Some women do obtain their dream roles right away. Before landing the title part in the 1964 mega film Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews had a few television roles to her credit. And to top it all off, Andrews' supercalifragilistic performance earned her the Best Actress Oscar.
3. Mathilda
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Since she was a little child, Natalie Portman has been hip. The Academy Award winner has almost 40 acting credits to her name, but Mathilda in Luc Besson's thriller Léon: The Professional will always stand out as one of her most memorable performances.
4. Dani Trant
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The majority of females toil in supporting roles when they start and climb the Hollywood ladder. Reese Witherspoon is not. She began as a leading woman. The 1991 coming-of-age drama Man in the Moon cast the Academy Award winner when she was just 15 years old.
5. Lucy Diamond Dawson
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Young Fanning took on her first significant part in a movie at seven. In the tearjerker drama about a mentally challenged dad battling for custody of his young daughter, she starred alongside Sean Penn. The fantastic thing is that before I Am Sam debuted in cinemas, the young actor had already appeared on several popular television series, including a few episodes of ER, Ally McBeal, CSI, The Practice, Spin City, and Malcolm in the Middle. Talk about starting strong!
6. Gidget
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One cannot adore Sally Field. In 1965, she made her televised debut as the beach-loving, adorable teenager Gidget. Since then, the accomplished actress has earned two Academy Awards and racked up more than 60 acting credits.
7. Flora McGrath
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When Anna Paquin won an Oscar for her first acting performance as Flora in The Piano, she was just 11 years old. Not a terrible start for the actress, who would go on to achieve superstardom as the HBO vampire drama True Blood's protagonist Sookie Stackhouse.
8. Hermia
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Shakespeare is a great location to begin your cinematic career, for sure! In Peter Hall's 1968 film rendition of the well-known Shakespeare comedy, Mirren portrayed Hermia. Mirren became everyone's favorite dame and was honored with an Oscar in 2007 for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in the film The Queen.
9. The Bombshell
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blonde beauty In the situation comedy Delta House, a spinoff of the famous film National Lampoon's Animal House, Michelle Pfeiffer made her acting debut. She was a figure that simply went by "The Bombshell." The only-season sitcom was short-lived.
Pfeiffer appeared on the show a total of eight times in 1979. Her career took off when she acted in the 1983 film Scarface alongside Al Pacino.
10. Fanny Brice
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"Hello, stunning!" Only 12 artists—including Barbara Streisand—have received the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Even more remarkable is that the actress, singer, director, and producer earned an Academy Award for her portrayal of Fanny Brice in
funny Girl, her first big-screen appearance, back in 1968.
11. Fritzi Wagner
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She can act, dance, and sing and looks adorable while doing all of those things. You may be familiar with Academy Award nominee Anna Kendrick from hit movies like Pitch Perfect and Into the Woods, but she began her acting career in the 2003 film Camp as the uncool kid at a singing camp.