Known for: The Breakfast Club
Net worth: $7 million
If you’re like me, Ally Sheedy’s quirky “Allison,” an adorably messed-up high school misfit, was your favorite Breakfast Club character. Apparently, she was surprised to find herself a misfit in Hollywood, for real. Author and actress, Sheedy, has not been afraid to be vocal about the industry’s penchant for body shaming, and she has spoken out as a #MeToo survivor. It’s no surprise. Her mother was active during the civil rights era with the feminist movement. Ally, in tow, attended her fair share of organized events.
Sheedy’s crowning achievement is an independent film called High Art. She played troubled photographer, Lucy Berliner. Her performance as the artsy lesbian with a heroin addiction was met with raving reviews. The 1998 film received the Independent Spirit Award, recognition from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and praise by the National Society of Film Critics. Sheedy is a card-holding “Brat Pack” member but loathes the term. She starred in St. Elmo’s Fire, Bad Boys (with Sean Penn) and WarGames. She dated Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi in the 1980s.
Cher
Known for: “I Got You Babe”
Net worth: $360 million
It’s hard to say whether Cher is more successful as a singer or as an actress. She’s definitely a master of reinvention. The come-back-kid has hit bottom in the industry only to bounce back with another hit. She’s the only recording artist with a No. 1 hit song spanning across six consecutive decades. She’s one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, and she’s won an Emmy, an Academy Award, a Grammy and three Golden Globes. Cher got her start in show biz after meeting Sonny Bono as a teen. The Sonny and Cher show climaxed in 1965 with “I Got You Babe.” She was 19. In 1974, the marriage fell apart, and so did the gig. Cher would bounce back, obviously, like a bouncing ball, but at the time it seemed like the Cher show had gone kaput. Undeterred, the fashion maven rocked on. Her movie career exploded with her second film performance in Silkwood . Co-starring with Meryl Streep, Cher won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award for the same category.
She’s a pop culture icon who's impossible to pin down. A new Broadway musical called The Cher Show attempts to do just that. The script provides three “Chers.” They call her: Babe Cher, Lady Cher, and Star Cher. Cher supports many causes. From humanitarian organizations to medical charity groups, she’s been an activist throughout her career. She’s the spokesperson for Keep a Child Alive organization, a program that helps children and families with HIV/AIDS. She’s also involved with Habitat for Humanity and Operation Helmet. She won the GLAAD Vanguard Award for her work supporting rights for gays and lesbians. Her daughter, Chaz Bono, who is now her son, transitioned from lesbian to transgender.
Ali MacGraw
Known for: Love Story
Net worth: $6 million
Born Elizabeth Alice MacGraw in New York, she became a fashion model first, posing for Vogue and working as a stylist for the magazine. She also assisted fashion virtuoso and editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland at Harper’s Bazaar .
Ali MacGraw rose to stardom in the late ’60s, achieving international fame starring in Love Story (1970). Kicking it off with the film Goodbye, Columbus (1969), she won the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She’s also known for being married to pop culture icon Steve McQueen, although they divorced in 1978. He was her third husband. In a recent interview with People she said, after 31 years of sobriety, she wished she and McQueen had both grown old sober. He died in 1980.
Liv Ullmann
Known for: The Emigrants
Net worth: $20 million
Celebrated muse of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullmann was known as “The Norwegian Angel.” Before she worked with the renowned director, Ullmann gained recognition for playing Nora in the Henrik Ibsen play, A Doll’s House .
Collaborating with Bergman, Ullmann starred in ten of his films, including her most distinguished achievements. Of mention are Persona, The Passion of Anna, and Autumn Sonata. In all, she was nominated 40 times for acting awards. In Bergman’s movies The Emigrants and Face to Face, Ullmann was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award in both films. Since the early 1990s, Ullmann’s directorial ambitions commenced with a film called Sofie. Faithless, her second effort, was acclaimed at Cannes. Her latest movie, a 2014 film adaptation of Miss Julie, was received with praise by Norwegian critics. An ongoing project that is near and dear to her heart is a film version of A Doll’s House. Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet were cast.
Gene Hackman
Known for: Unforgiven, French Connection, and The Conversation
Net worth: $80 million
Gene Hackman is done with acting. He put in his 60 years and he doesn’t want to do it anymore. But, you know, if the perfect character rolls by he might just grab it. He certainly does not want to play some grandpa. What he loves to do is write, paint, and race cars. In 2016, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race.
Hackman was born in 1930 to parents who ran a newspaper printing press. He dropped out of high school for the Marines (lying about his age to get in) but left the service after a year. He and his high school buddy, Dustin Hoffman, were slated “least likely to succeed,” yet somehow, he made it to Broadway. A fortuitous role in a 1964 Broadway play called Any Wednesday kicked off his career. It led him to a small role in Warren Beatty’s film Bonnie and Clyde which earned him a Best Supporting Actor Academy nomination. He won the Oscar for Detective “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection. By age 40, he had cemented himself as a cinematic legend.