The early years of the 1940s decade were not promising for the American Film industry, especially following the late 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, and the resultant loss of foreign markets. However, Hollywood film production rebounded and reached its profitable peak of efficiency during the years 1943 to 1946 – a full decade and more after the rise of sound film production, now that the technical challenges of the early 1930s sound era were far behind. Advances in film technology (sound recording, lighting, special effects, cinematography and use of color) meant that films were more watchable and ‘modern’. Following the end of the war, Hollywood’s most profitable year in the decade was 1946, with all-time highs recorded for theatre attendance.

The world was headed toward rearmament and warfare in the early to mid-1940s, and the movie industry, like every other aspect of life, responded to the national war effort by making movies, producing many war-time favorites, and having stars (and film industry employees) enlist or report for duty. The US government’s Office of War Information (OWI), formed in 1942, served as an important propaganda agency during World War II, and coordinated its efforts with the film industry to record and photograph the nation’s war-time activities. Tinseltown aided in the defensive mobilization, whether as combatants, propagandists, documentary, newsreel or short film-makers, educators, fund-raisers for relief funds or war bonds, entertainers, or morale-boosters. Films took on a more realistic rather than escapist tone, as they had done during the Depression years of the 1930s.

The 1940s witnessed the rise of many Hollywood Actresses. Among them were Ginger Rogers, who won an Oscar for her role in the 1940 film Kitty Foyle, and Lana Turner who became one of the highest-paid actresses during the 1940s. The decade also witnessed the rise and fall of actresses like Veronica Lake whose career flourished in the 1940s but began to wane towards the end of the decade. Below is a list of top 25 Hollywood actresses of the 1940s:

Widely regarded as a legend of classical Hollywood cinema, Lana Turner was one of the most prominent and highest-paid actresses in the mid-1940s. Also considered a popular culture icon of Hollywood glamor, Turner also achieved success as a pin-up model. Her life and career have inspired several works across art, literature, music, and film.

Katharine Hepburn served as the leading American actress for over six decades. She is regarded as an influential cultural figure and was included in the popular book Women Who Changed the World. Katharine Hepburn is also named in lists like 300 Women Who Changed the World, 100 Icons of the Century, and 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time.