At first, I was thinking
Ingrid Bergman, but I've always felt a sense of disconnection with her for some reason. I mean her performance in Casablanca was legendary, one of my favorite ever, but maybe she was outshone by Bogart.
Meryl Streep is outstanding, even sublime. Sophie's Choice was incredible.
I didn't like
Diane Lane until Unfaithful, which was something completely different. It's funny, too, because Olivier Martinez was horrible in that movie, but Lane managed to really do something special with the role.
Claudine Auger is another favorite, though to be honest I've only seen like two or three of her movies.