Great Actress / Singer
 

I was wondering. do you think it's possible to be a great actress & a singer
at the same time. And which female actress/singer do you think has the best
acting AND singing talent?


I started thinking about this after I found out that Jennifer Landon
(daughter of Michael Landon of 'Highway to Heaven', 'Little House on the
Prairie', & 'Bonanza' fame) who followed her dad's acting career and really
did well in the daytime soap AWS (As the World Turns) went on to launch a
singing career. I believe she only has 1 song out right now, called Slide,
but it's really good. You can check it on iTunes if you like.

Any thoughts?"

In the "old" days it was pretty much required to be able to act, sing and dance. Some of the finest performers of all time could do it all. Judy Garland, Ethel Mirman, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra ... etc.

Today ... I'm not so sure. Christopher Walken can act and dance ... not so much in the singing department. :) Natalie Portman is a good actress (I wouldn't say great) and she can rap (as seen on SNL).

I can't think of any modern actress/singers that knock my socks off. Madonna? Cher? Hardly modern.

<B>EDIT: Thanks, willravel, for pointing out that this person has posted the exact same message on several boards. This could be a low-tech viral marketing attempt to drive people to J. Landon's song ... if so, I'll bet it gets deleted soon. </b>

Yeah I have a thought... I think you're Jen Landon.

Seriously though, I think it's possible, but as a working musician, it's rare for me to find a singer who is more concerned with the actual process of making music than they are the presentation and image. With that detriment to quality in place, it would be rare for one to be able to master the craft of acting as well.

One place to look might be in the opera world, where it is a requisite to be able to do both.

Frank Sinatra in the Manchurian Candidate was the first thing that came to mind, then I realized you said 'actress'. The thing is: my tastes tell me that Jennifer Lopez is a really crap actress and a really crap singer, but why is my opionion the most important? If we're going my sales, then she is quite successful at both acting and singing. The same thing does for Whitney Houston, the teen girls of today (Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Duff, et all). I think they have neither acting talent or music talent, but other people must like them. The exceptions would probably be Mandy Moore, who can do both acting and singing quite well (also, wow, she's gorgeous and smart, too), Beyonce Knowles, who's acting is developing and has a dynamite voice, and Aaliyah Haughton, who was one of the most promising actresses immediatly before her death in 2001 (that was over shadowed by 9/11).

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Interesting sites I found with google:
http://talk.livedaily.com/showthread.php?p=10366329
http://bbs.clubplanet.com/music-medi...ss-singer.html
http://www.boardtracker.com/cgi-bin/...&member=103918

OH that'd be so cool!!! She's pretty.

Beyonce always shows up in movies just in time to sing her latest hit. I'd hardly call that acting.:)

She is one of the best singers around, though, and Dreamgirls might give her the role she needs.

She's already way better than Madonna.

But seriously, that Carmen remake on MTV a few years back wasn't bad, and she was passable as an actress in Goldmember and Fighting Temptations. I do have to agree that Dreamgirls will make or break her for me.

Good movies and great singing? Barbra of course. (Dodges tomatoes)

Judy Garland...and Babs....:D

Did anyone mention Mariah Carey?

I thought not.

Another vote for Mandy Moore. She is so low-key and humble but incredibly talented as both an actress and a singer.

will smith - if rapping can be considered singing - he's come a long way as an actor - and well - i suppose he's fun as a rapper

I think Emmy Rossum did a fantastic job of both acting and singing in Phantom of the Opera released last year. a classically trained opera singer, she also shows great potential as an actress, she was in this year's Poseidon but the scrip didn't allow her to show her range or craft at all . she's classy and seems a natural in front of the camera. she gets my vote.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002536/
:)

sp

This is actually her video on aol music:
Jennifer Landon
Let me know what you think...

Put me firmly in the Mandy Moore camp. I don't much care for her genre of music, but there's no disputing that she has a great voice. And anyone's who's seen "Saved!" can attest to her acting chops.

Judy Garland gets my nod as well.

There are a lot of great actors who also get into other artistic outputs. Right brain activity I suppose. It never surprises me to hear that so and so an actor is also an excellent singer. In fact one of my favorite examples is Viggo Mortenson of LOTR fame is a recorded Jazz Pianist (an instrument and style of music more demanding then singing in several ways), a published poet and published photographer. Success in 4 artistic fields, while his money is in acting.

Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra certainly from a golden age. I also put a plug for Julie Andrews.

You can go through the long list of actors who have gone on to do broadway in singing roles and have gotten rave reviews and just as many who get stinkers.

I am in love with that man. :love:

Then there is Gerard Butler... actor, singer, etc.

Talent in multiple fields + looks = me melting. :lol:

ooooo how nice that she has an e-team. Spam much? :p

Bette Midler
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000541/

Michelle Pfeiffer
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000201/

Billy Holiday was an under used actress.

enough for now.

Np. I figured I point it out.