Meryl Streep is often described as the “best actress of her generation.” Streep started her acting career like many others, on Broadway. She had her film debut at the age of 28 in the T.V movie, Deadliest Season and held a small part in Julia later that year.
Streep has the most Academy award nominations than any other actor. She definitely uses her power and fame for the betterment of society and is involved with a lot of charity work for women’s rights.
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn has had a successful acting career in which she’s been nominated multiple times and won several awards. In 1971, she acted in The Last Picture Show for which she received her first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then received another nomination for Best Actress for her role as Chris MacNeil in The Exorcist. She finally won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1975 for playing Alice Hyatt in the Martin Scorsese film Alice doesn’t live here anymore.
Her career continues to be strong and she has acted in many films in the last few years and is set to perform in a few more in the upcoming years.
Kirstie Alley
The late Kirstie Alley is another big name from the 70s and still today. Her breakout role was in 1982 when she played Saavik in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
She has since appeared in several films and TV series. Most memorable was Rebecca Howe on Cheers for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1991. She appeared in the Fox TV series “Scream Queens.”
Marilu Henner
Marilu started her career off in the 70s with a national touring company playing Marty in Broadway musical Grease. She made her film debut in Between the lines in 1977. Her role which brought her major fame was in the comedy sitcom Taxi as Elaine Nardo.
Fun fact - she is one of twelve known people in the world with Highly Superior autobiographical memory and was in 60 minutes and 60 minutes Australia in a two-part special. She is also the author of several books including Changing Normal: How I Helped My Husband Defeat Cancer.
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda won her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1972 for her work in Klute playing the role of a prostitute. Following the role, she didn’t get work as an actress. She then formed a production company IPC films and produced her 1977 comeback film Fun With Dick and Jane.
Since then, she has been involved in many notable endeavors such as authoring several books, environmentalism, and philanthropy. She was also nominated for (and won, of course) numerous awards, and was even inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Strangely, it only happened in 2019.