To say it right at the beginning: unfortunately, we were able to compile fewer songs about actresses than about actors.
But this will change in the future, it's just a matter of time.
We have compiled the best songs about female Hollywood movie stars for you.
In particular, American actresses from Hollywood are the sources of inspiration for songs in pop and rock music.
So, movie stars who do not come from or work in the USA probably have less chance of being honored with a song by singer-songwriters and bands.
Absolutely worth mentioning: it is not only actresses in the commercial sense or crowned with numerous awards in this song list.
1. Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
"Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes is a single that made a huge chart performance in 1981 and earned Kim Carnes a Grammy.
Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon wrote and composed the song back in 1974.
In an interview, Donna Weiss was not at all sure about how exactly she got the inspiration for the song lyrics, but revealed a movie starring Hollywood actress Bette Davis as a possible inspiration. "I think it was an old movie called Jezebel. The way she looked back then with white hairs." Which Donna Weiss almost refuted in one breath: "But that's not really the inspiration for the song."[1]
2. Grace Kelly - Mika
The dialog fragment that can be heard at the beginning of the song "Grace Kelly" comes from a sequence of the film "The Country Girl" with the American actress Grace Kelly.
Before the film clip, Mika, who more or less takes on the role of Grace Kelly's film dialogue partner, speaks: "I wanna talk to you".
The words Grace Kelly answers in the film scene, sampled in the intro of Mika's song, are: "The last time we spoke, Mr. Smith, you brought me to tears. I promise you it won't happen again".
It is worth mentioning that originally in the film it is not Mr. Smith, but Mr. Dodd.
At the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, Mika sang "Grace Kelly" in a song medley of his greatest hits.
3. Edie - The Cult (Ciao Baby)
The American actress Edie Sedgwick and the film "Ciao! Manhattan" were the inspiration for the song "Edie (Ciao Baby)" by the English rock band The Cult.[2]
"Ciao! Manhattan" is a 1972 film as a semi-biographical narrative in which Edie Sedgwick and other actresses and actors play themselves.
Shortly after the end of the shooting of the film "Ciao! Manhattan!", Edie Sedgwick died of a drug overdose at the age of 28.
The single "Edie (Ciao Baby)" was released on June 26, 1989. The front cover of the single features Edie Sedgwick.
4. Candle in the Wind - Elton John
In 1973, "Candle in the Wind" was written and composed by the congenial singer-songwriter duo Elton John.
It is a song about the American actress Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years before the single was released.
Within days of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997, "Candle in the Wind" was rewritten by Elton John especially for her and released as a single on September 13, 1997.
References
[1]
The Billboard book of number one hits : Bronson, Fred : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (1992). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron/page/542/mode/2up?view=theater, page 543
[2]
Williams, G., & Williams, G. (2021, April 19). 5 incredible songs written about Edie Sedgwick. Far Out Magazine. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/best-songs-about-edie-sedgwick-bob-dylan-velvet-underground/, para. 17