Career: Smith rose to prominence on stage during the 1950s thanks to regular West End roles. Her first film, 1956's Child in the House, didn't set the box office alight, but she eventually gained international acclaim thanks to her role in Othello nine years later. She won an Oscar for 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and has since appeared in such acclaimed productions as California Suite (for which she picked up another Academy Award), A Room with a View, and Gosford Park. She became a Dame of the British Empire in 1990. More recently, Smith gained a new fan base thanks to her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies, appeared in the films Ladies in Lavender and Keeping Mum, and TV series Downton Abbey. She has also battled breast cancer.

Career: Dench made her professional debut with the Old Vic Company before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and has frequently worked on stage ever since. She became a household name in the 1980s thanks to sitcom A Fine Romance, for which she won a Bafta. She's also won the award for Four in the Morning, Talking to a Stranger, Iris, The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Shakespeare In Love (for which she picked up an Oscar too), A Handful of Dust, Mrs Brown and A Room With a View. Other notable productions include Chocolat, Notes on a Scandal, J Edgar, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, and several Bond movies, including Skyfall, in which she bowed out as M.

Career: As Sonny and Cher, the duo became pop icons and had their own TV show. She also maintained a solo career, including singles Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, and Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). After divorcing Sonny she concentrated on movies. In 1987, after acclaimed performances in Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Suspect, she won a Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck. Cher has continued to enjoy a successful recording career and continues to act in such movies as Tea with Mussolini, Stuck On You and Burlesque.

Career: Tomlin made her film debut in Nashville (1975), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other films followed, including 9 to 5 (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981), All of Me (1984), Big Business (1988), Short Cuts (1993), I Heart Huckabees (2004) and A Prairie Home Companion (2006). In 1977, Tomlin became the first woman to have a solo show on Broadway, Appearing Nitely. She won a Tony Award for her performance in another one-woman Broadway show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. It was made into a film in 1991. Tomlin's TV credits include Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, The West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Damages and Malibu Country. More recently, she starred opposite Jane Fonda in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, and on the big screen in Grandma (2015).