Photographs by Firooz Zahedi/artistrepinc.com
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Hollywood’s Hottest
By Nancy Griffin, March & April 2005
They're sexy, smart, and devoted to causes. All have won Oscars. We celebrate their glamour
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French fashion designer Coco Chanel proposed this theory about a
woman's appeal: "You can be gorgeous at twenty, charming
at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life."
We've got proof on this issue's cover, which features
seven of the most alluring—and enduring—Academy
Award-winning actresses of our time. Allure: the dictionarya
defines it as the power to attract; enticement. These modern-day
screen sirens entice not just with their striking looks and sex
appeal but with their spirit and joie de vivre. We chose them
because they embody the classic Hollywood virtues of beauty,
glamour, grace, elegance, strength, smarts, and wit.
And, not least, talent that is deep and versatile. A passion for
performing that makes all of us, young and old, want to keep
watching them forever. These remarkable women-Kathy Bates, Patty
Duke, Marcia Gay Harden, Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Rita
Moreno, and Joanne Woodward-have each secured a place in
Hollywood history, and a bronze statuette, with unforgettable
roles on the big screen.
Not a one of them has rested on her laurels. Harden, at 45 the
baby of the group, turned in a haunting performance in 2003's
Mystic River. Shirley Jones spent the summer on Broadway,
kicking up her heels in 42nd Street with her son Patrick
Cassidy. Cloris Leachman's latest film, Spanglish, won
her raves from the critics and several Movies for Grownups
nominations. And who can forget Kathy Bates's
courageous—and hilarious—hot-tub scene with Jack
Nicholson in About Schmidt?
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How do they do it? Perspective helps. Over the years these
working women have all sought to balance demanding careers with
fulfilling personal lives, and claim among them 18 children and
19 grandchildren. Several have expanded their horizons beyond
acting: Duke, who is recuperating from a heart-bypass operation,
lectures as a spokesperson for mental health; Woodward is the
artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse in
Connecticut, where she lives with husband Paul Newman; Bates has
dabbled in directing; and Jones and Moreno take their musical
shows on the road.
AARP The Magazine salutes its seven Oscar-winning cover
girls. May they ever sizzle, seduce, and keep their
million-dollar smiles.
Joanne Woodward
Birth name: Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward
Nickname: Joey
Age: 75 (born February 27, 1930)
Won Oscar for: Her leading role as a woman with multiple
personalities in The Three Faces of Eve (1957).
Her latest work: She loved playing Francine Whiting, a
rich and powerful woman who owns a small town, in the upcoming
HBO movie Empire Falls, because she "got to be
mean."
Proudest about: As artistic director of the Westport
Country Playhouse in Connecticut, she raised millions for its
renovation.
Embarrassed about: Breaking her collarbone last autumn by
falling out of bed.
Music she danced to during our photo shoot: Madeleine
Peyroux's Careless Love CD.
Comment on the photo shoot: "I wish I was as thin as
Cloris!"
Exception to the jewel: Only actress on our cover to wear
jewelry by Graf; the other six wore Harry Winston.
Cause: The Environmental Defense Fund. "My mission is
to help reverse global warming."
Beauty secrets: "Good genes, avoided the
sun."
Family: Has three daughters—Nell, Lissy, and Clea
(all go by their nicknames)—with her husband of 47 years,
Paul Newman, and two grandchildren.
How she charmed us: After the shoot she asked if she could
take home some Polaroids because she thought "Paul would get
a kick out of them."
Shirley Jones
Birth name: Shirley Mae Jones
Age: 71 (born March 31, 1934)
Won Oscar for: Elmer Gantry (1960), in which she
played a preacher's daughter turned prostitute, opposite
actor Burt Lancaster.
How that changed her life: It gave the Broadway actress
career longevity: "Some people pooh-pooh the Oscar. My
career had been over because they weren't making musicals any
more. At that time, it was thought that if you were a singer, you
couldn't act."
Where she keeps it: On a pedestal in her living
room.
Her latest role: Returned to Broadway after 36 years to
costar with son Patrick Cassidy in 42nd Street.
Next role: Mother Goose on Sesame Street.
Family: Sons Shaun, Patrick, and Ryan Cassidy; stepson
David Cassidy, from her late ex-husband, Jack Cassidy. Seven
grandchildren. Married to comedian Marty Ingels.
Cause: "I work for animal rights around the
clock."
Her secret to staying beautiful: "I've never had
any plastic surgery and I don't intend to."
Her secret to happiness: "Laugh a lot. People say,
'My God, you married a comic. How do you stand it?' Marty
is a handful, and Jack [Cassidy] was too. But for me, it's
something that I need."
Fun fact: Named after Shirley Temple.
Kathy Bates
Birth name: Kathleen Doyle Bates
Nickname: Bobo
Age: 57 (born June 28, 1948)
Won Oscar for: Playing the deranged fan who tortures a
famous author (James Caan) in Misery (1990).
Where she keeps it: In a safe-deposit box, "because
I've been traveling so much."
Also nominated for: Primary Colors, About
Schmidt. Raciest screen moment: Nude hot-tub scene with Jack
Nicholson in About Schmidt. "I actually had a
cosmopolitan before I got in the tub, to take the edge off. The
water was nice and warm, and so was Jack."
Upcoming roles: Plays FDR's physical therapist
opposite Kenneth Branagh in the HBO movie Warm Springs and
Danny DeVito's trashy wife in the screwball comedy
Relative Strangers.
Causes: Has given to charities for abused women and
autistic children. "I give in my own way, quietly and under
the radar."
Has yet to accomplish: Plans to start an exercise program
this year: "As I get older I feel the need to get in
shape."
Secret to staying happy: "I like to confront problems
head-on and not let them fester."
How she surprised us: Arrived with platinum hair at the
photo shoot.
Says blonds do have more fun: "When the men friends I
go out to dinner with first get a look at it, they get a glazed
look in their eyes, like before a snake strikes."
Marcia Gay Harden
Birth name: Marcia Gay Harden
Age: 45 (born August 14, 1959)
Won Oscar for: Playing artist Lee Krasner, the
long-suffering wife of brilliant but volatile painter Jackson
Pollock, in the movie Pollock.
How it changed her life: "Winning an Oscar is like
having a beautiful red cloak with a satin lining you can put on
at any time."
Her most recent role: A funny and poignant turn as an aide
to the former president of the U.S. (Gene Hackman), with whom she
is secretly in love, in Welcome to Mooseport.
Next project: Plays an aggressive lawyer opposite Billy
Bob Thornton in remake of The Bad News Bears.
Cause: Education. Supports an after school program called
Champions as her way of honoring her late niece and nephew, who
died a year ago in a Queens, New York, fire.
Embarrassed about: Losing her temper in an airport
security line when she had to put two strollers through the x-ray
machine and carry her twins: "Can we just have a
mother-friendly security line?"
On her to-do list: Hopes to find more time for her
pottery-making hobby after her kids are grown.
Beauty secrets: "Stand tall, smile, and be proud-and
try to have good hair."
Family: Three children with husband Thaddaeus Scheel:
Eulala Grace and twins Hudson and Julitta, born last April.
Fun fact: Her father, brother, and husband are all named
Thaddaeus.
How she juggles work and family: "My husband is
great, and my mother flies in and helps when I'm on
location."
Patty Duke
Birth name: Anna Marie Duke
Age: 58 (born December 14, 1946)
Won Oscar for: Her portrayal of Helen Keller in The
Miracle Worker (1962).
Where she keeps it: "Oscar was a doorstop; Oscar was
in the basement. I went through a period of false humility. I
thought if I had Oscar out people would think I was full of
myself. Now Oscar is in a beautiful étagère near my
front door."
Her latest role: Gumshoe nun Mother Joseph in Hallmark TV
movie Murder Without Conviction.
Proudest about: Wrote about her personal experience with
manic-depressive illness in her book, A Brilliant Madness
(Bantam, 1992).
Next project: Plans to speak out about her November 2004
coronary bypass operation, even if it costs her a role. "My
agents may say 'ix-nay on the bypass,' but I can't;
that's me. It's more important for me to be
myself."
Cause: "To talk about things that are not usually
talked about; I have the benefit of a bully pulpit on talk
shows."
Family: Married 19 years to her fourth husband, former
firefighter Mike Pearce, with whom she has one son, Kevin. Sons
Sean Astin (by Michael Tell) and MacKenzie Astin (by John Astin)
are actors; she has three grandchildren.
How she charmed us: Loved playing dress-up. "When you
think of Patty Duke, you don't normally think of diamonds,
feathers, and spiked hair."
Cloris Leachman
Birth name: Cloris Leachman
Age: 79 (born April 30, 1926)
Won Oscar for: The Last Picture Show (1971), in
which she played a desperate Texas housewife who seduces teenage
Timothy Bottoms.
Proudest of: The hideous people she played in Mel
Brooks's parodies Young Frankenstein ('74) and
High Anxiety ('77).
Her latest role: Tea Leoni's alcoholic mom in
Spanglish.
Next role: A prison warden's secretary in this
spring's The Longest Yard remake with Adam Sandler.
"I'm in my underwear with gigantic boobs with garters
and high heels and a red wig eight inches high."
Is passionate about: Acting. "She loves the work so
much, we'd have to tear her away from the set at the end of
the day," says Spanglish director James L.
Brooks.
Family: Five children with former husband George Englund,
all actors: Adam, Bryan (deceased), George Jr., Morgan, and
Dinah.
Beauty secret: "I haven't exercised in 10
years."
Self-image: "I have played a lot of old ladies, but I
don't think of myself as an old lady."
Fun fact: Was runner-up to Miss America in 1946.
She made us laugh when: Peony, her Shih Tzu, was groomed
for a picture too.
Rita Moreno
Birth name: Rosita Dolores Alverio
Age: 73 (born December 11, 1931)
Won Oscar for: West Side Story (1961), as the
tempestuous Puerto Rican gang moll Anita.
Roots: Moved to New York from Puerto Rico at age
five.
Self-observation: "I'm a 'You've come a
long way, baby' kind of person."
Proudest about: Role model and trailblazer for Hispanic
stars, including Jennifer Lopez.
Next production: Candide at the New York City Opera
starting on March 4.
Has yet to accomplish: Is writing her life story for a
one-woman stage act.
Family: Lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband of
39 years, Dr. Leonard Gordon, not far from her daughter Fernanda,
38.
Favorite role: Reading The Three Little Pigs to
grandsons Justin, 6, and Cameron, 4.
Beauty secret: Exfoliation.
Fun fact: First performer ever to win an Oscar, a Grammy,
a Tony, and an Emmy—and, this past June, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom!
How she charmed us: Sang along with Marilyn Monroe CDs at
our photo shoot.
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