Female Stars of British Cinema

Although stardom and celebrity have sometimes been seen as antithetical to traditional British notions of restraint and modesty, female stars have nonetheless always been an important attraction for audiences of British cinema, offering specifically British takes on ideas of glamour, acting prowess and femininity.This book explores in detail the history of British female stardom from the 1940s to the present day through an examination of the careers and star personae of some of the most significant stars from the last 70 years of British cinema from the Gainsborough girls who enjoyed enormous popularity in the immediate postwar years to key contemporary figures such as Helena Bonham Carter and Judi Dench.

Female Stars of British Cinema uses case studies of seven female stars whose careers span the 1940s to the present day Jean Kent, Diana Dors, Rita Tushingham, Glenda Jackson, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Lloyd, and Judi Dench to explore how British star femininities have developed over time.