The Women

Meg Ryan (born November 19, 1961) is an American actress, producer and director. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film Rich and Famous. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982. She began to appear in supporting roles in films during the mid-1980s like box office hit Top Gun, achieving recognition in independent films such as Promised Land (1987) before her performance in the Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989) brought her widespread attention and her first Golden Globe nomination. She subsequently established herself, both nationally and internationally, as one of the most successful actresses in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in romantic comedy films such as When Harry Met Sally (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), Prelude to a Kiss (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), French Kiss (1995), You've Got Mail (1998), and Kate & Leopold (2001). Her other films include Top Gun (1986), Innerspace (1987),  The Doors (1991), Anastasia (1997), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), Addicted to Love (1997), City of Angels (1998), Proof of Life (2000), Against the Ropes (2004), and The Women (2008). In 2015, she made her directorial debut with Ithaca, in which she also starred. In 1995, critic Richard Corliss called her "the current soul of romantic comedy." Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Ryan as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. She was married to actor Dennis Quaid (1991-2001), and they have a son, Jack. In 2000, Ryan became romantically involved with actor Russell Crowe while working on their film Proof of Life. In January 2006, Ryan adopted a 14-month-old girl from China whom she named Daisy True. She was in a relationship with American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp (2010-2014). They reunited in 2017, and announced their engagement on November 8, 2018. In October 2019, it was reported that Ryan had ended their engagement.

Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has received many accolades, including a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globes as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, and five Academy Awards. Bening began her career on stage with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival company in 1980, and played Lady Macbeth in 1984 at the American Conservatory Theater. She made her Broadway debut in the Tina Howe play Coastal Disturbances (1987) for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She played the title role in a Geffen Playhouse production of Hedda Gabler (1999). She returned to Broadway in the revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons (2019) earning another Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Bening won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for playing a materialistic wife in American Beauty (1999), and received nominations for five Academy Awards for her roles in The Grifters (1990), American Beauty, Being Julia (2004), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Nyad (2023). She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for playing the title role in the television film Mrs. Harris (2005). Her other notable films include Postcards from the Edge (1990), Bugsy (1991), Richard III (1995), The American President (1995), 20th Century Women (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), The Seagull (2018), The Report (2019), Captain Marvel (2019), and Death on the Nile (2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Annette Bening, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974, height 5' 6" (1,68 m)) is an American actress, model, singer, and homeware and fashion designer. She began acting in the late 1990s, and after a series of roles in B movies such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), she broke into the Hollywood mainstream with an appearance in Training Day (2001). She has since starred in many films including All About The Benjamins (2002); 2 Fast 2 Furious, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Out of Time and Stuck on You (2003); Hitch (2005); Ghost Rider and We Own the Night (both 2007); The Spirit (2008); The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); The Other Guys and Last Night (both 2010), Girl in Progress (2012). Mendes has worked as a spokesmodel for Cocio chocolate milk, Magnum ice cream, Revlon make-up, Calvin Klein underwear and perfume, Cartier jewelry, Thierry Mugler perfume, Reebok trainers, Campari apéritif, Pantene shampoo, Morgan clothes and Peek & Cloppenburg clothes. Mendes is the creator of a home decor line, Vida, sold exclusively at Macy's. She launched a bedding collection in 2008 and a dinnerware collection in 2010. Mendes is a singer: she has recorded a version of The Windmills of Your Mind and has collaborated with Cee Lo Green on a song entitled Pimps Don't Cry. She lives in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the shortlived television series, Ned and Stacey on Fox (1995–1997), and Prey on ABC (1998). She achieved her breakthrough role as Grace Adler, an interior designer, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning once, in 2003. From 2007 to 2008, Messing starred as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, on the television miniseries The Starter Wife, for which she received two Golden Globe nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Thereafter, she appeared as Broadway playwright Julia Houston on the NBC musical drama Smash (2012–2013) and as homicide detective Laura Diamond on the NBC police-procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura (2014–2016). From 2017 to 2020, Messing reprised her role as Grace Adler on NBC's three season revival of Will & Grace, garnering a ninth Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Messing's film work includes A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Jesus (1999), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Hollywood Ending (2002), Along Came Polly (2004), The Wedding Date (2005), Lucky You (2007), The Women (2008), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008), Searching (2018), and 13: The Musical (2022). She has also lent her voice to animated films such as Garfield (2004) and Open Season (2006). Description above from the Wikipedia article Debra Messing, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Pinkett Smith launched her music career in 2002, when she helped create the metal band Wicked Wisdom, for which she is a singer and songwriter. Smith also created a production company, in addition to authoring a book, published in 2004. In 1997, she married rapper and actor Will Smith. They have two children, Jaden and Willow, and Pinkett Smith is stepmother to Willard "Trey" Smith III, Will's son from a previous marriage. The couple founded the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, a charity organization which focuses on inner-city youth and family support and has worked with non-profit organizations like YouthBuild and the Lupus Foundation of America.

Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress and former fashion model. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (1988–1998, 2018-2019). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmidt on the ABC drama Boston Legal (2005–2008). In films, Bergen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Starting Over (1979), and for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982). Bergen began her career as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of Vogue before she made her screen debut in the film The Group (1966). She starred in The Sand Pebbles (1966), Soldier Blue (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), and The Wind and the Lion (1975). She made her Broadway debut in the 1984 play Hurlyburly and starred in the revivals of The Best Man (2012) and Love Letters (2014). From 2002 to 2004, she appeared in three episodes of the HBO series Sex and the City. Her other film roles include Miss Congeniality (2000), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), The Women (2008), Bride Wars (2009), Book Club (2018) and Let Them All Talk (2020).

Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 26, 2021) was an American actress and comedian, whose career spanned over seven decades. She won various accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded actress in Emmy history. In addition, she won an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Leachman's breakthrough role was the nosy and cunning landlady Phyllis Lindstrom in the landmark CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–75), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1974 and 1975; its spin-off, Phyllis (1975–77), earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actress – Musical or Comedy.

Debi Mazar (born August 13, 1964) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her trademark Jersey Girl-type appearances, and as edgy, sharp-tongued women in independent films and her recurring role on Entourage.

Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and film producer. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Midler began her professional career in several Off-Off-Broadway plays, prior to her engagements in Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation on Broadway in the late 1960s. She came to prominence in 1970 when she began singing in the Continental Baths, a local gay bathhouse where she managed to build up a core following. Since 1970, Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist. Throughout her career, many of her songs became hits on the record charts, including her renditions of "The Rose", "Wind Beneath My Wings", "Do You Want to Dance", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", and "From a Distance". In a career spanning almost half a century, Midler has won three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She has sold over 30 million records worldwide, and has received four Gold, three Platinum, and three Multiplatinum albums by RIAA. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bette Midler, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 - December 27, 2016) was an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. Daughter of the famous actors Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, she gained fame for her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa in the original Star Wars trilogy. Her novel Postcards from the Edge was also a bestseller, for which she wrote a screenplay to the film of the same name.

Jill Flint (born November 25, 1977) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Diana Lindsay on CBS's Bull, Dr. Jordan Alexander on NBC's medical drama The Night Shift, Lana Delaney on CBS's award-winning series The Good Wife, Jill Casey on USA Network's series Royal Pains, Shelly Feder in Cadillac Records, and a recurring role as Bex Simon on Gossip Girl.

Joanna Gleason Sarandon (née Joanne Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She is known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She is also known for her film work in Mike Nichols' Heartburn (1986), Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). She has had television roles in shows such as Friends, The West Wing, The Good Wife and The Affair.

Lynn Whitfield (née Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical film The Josephine Baker Story (1991). In the 1990s, Whitfield played leading roles in a number of made-for-television movies and had several starring roles in theatrical films, including A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), Gone Fishin' (1997), Eve's Bayou (1997), Stepmom (1998), Head of State (2003), Madea's Family Reunion (2006), and The Women (2008). Whitfield also starred in a number of movies in the 2000s and 2010s. From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Lady Mae Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network dramatic series Greenleaf, for which she won critical acclaim and garnered two NAACP Image Awards and a Gracie Award. She later appeared in the films Nappily Ever After (2018), Vacation Friends (2021), and The Retirement Plan (2023). Whitfield has won a total of seven NAACP Image Awards. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lynn Whitfield, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Ana Gasteyer is an American singer, stage and screen actress. She is best known for her comedic roles as a cast member of the television show Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002. She holds a BS in Theatre and Performance Studies from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Christy Scott Cashman is known for Edge of Darkness (2010), The Pink Panther 2 (2009) and American Hustle (2013).

Celeste Oliva is known for We Own This City (2022), Julia (2022) and Law & Order (1990).