20. GENE TIERNEY
Laura (1944)

Jacoby was in love with her when he painted her portrait. She was worshiped, adored, warm, and vibrant. Quite a buildup for a woman who, for the first 15 minutes of the film that bears her name, exists only as a memory. Logic would dictate that because Laura is extraordinary she must be played as such. But Tierney's Laura is not a goddess — she's a firmly planted mortal (albeit one with unearthly bone structure), which makes her infinitely more intriguing. She underplays. She seems to speak so softly at times that you have to lean in to catch her lines. It's subtle, career-defining work with as many shadings as the angles of her face.