Top Five Actresses of Our Time

Where have all the actresses gone? Marlo Thomas, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor . . .ah the greats. But there are still some greats of today as well. It's a shame they get muddled in with all the other bad actresses out there. All I hear people I know saying today is that there are no great actresses of our time. Well, I feel like every year, the Academy Awards gets it right almost every time. Here are some of those recognized by the Academy and those who should be recognized by the public.

Dame Judy Dench. What an honor to even write her name. A lovely woman, an even lovelier actress. She is the epitome of what an actress should be. She is talented, interesting, versatile, and a class act to boot. Always regal and again classy, Judi Dench picks roles that are not only suited to her but in which she isn't always accustomed. From James Bond Films to Chocolat to Notes On A Scandal, Judi Dench has done an amazing body of work, popular or not. The great thing about her work is that it is of quality proportions.

She makes all the roles she plays her own, meaning that no matter what she chooses to do you couldn't see anyone else playing it but her. Valley girls are a dime a dozen, teachers getting poor kids out the ghetto may be too. But when Judi Dench does a role, she makes it seem like it's never been done before nor can it ever be copied.

Judy Dench is one of our most prized possessions in the acting world because when she looks at you on-screen you can feel what she is thinking. She can be silent and have a quiet moment with herself that resounds through the anger in her eyes or the psychotic way in which she is planning out your eminent destruction. She is a true master of the art.

We fell in love with her in Pretty Woman, we sympathized with her in My Best Friend's Wedding and he seemed to channel a Norma Rae in all of us in Erin Brokovich. Julia Roberts, America's sweetheart, a beautiful, strong woman, is much more than what she portrays on screen. She is much more than a sensitive girl or a downtrodden woman. She is a wonderful actress in her own rite.