32 Movie Stars Who Started In The 1960s And Are Still Acting Today

Some of the most enduring stars got their starts more than six decades ago, and they are still going strong today. Stars like Harrison Ford, Dame Judi Dench, Jeff Bridges, and even Jodie Foster have been acting their whole lives, and their amazing careers will live on forever. Here is our list of amazing actors who started in the 1960s and are still working today.

Robert Duvall

After cutting his teeth with some television appearances starting in 1959, Robert Duvall made one of the most memorable film debuts of all time as Boo Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall hasn't stopped stealing scenes in the 60+ years since. He's starred in some of the greatest movies ever, like The Godfather, and won an Oscar for Tender Mercies. His most recent credit is The Pale Blue Eye from 2022.

Sally Field

Sally Field is truly America's sweetheart. Her breakout role came on the classic TV show Gidget, and she's starred in some legendary movies and TV shows ever since. With roles in movies as diverse as Smokey and the Bandit, Forrest Gump, and Fried Green Tomatoes, Field has proven she can handle any role she takes on.

Clint Eastwood

There are no bigger legends in Hollywood history than Clint Eastwood. Not much has been said here. His career started in earnest with Spaghetti Westerns, and he's been directing and starring in movies ever since.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Henry Fonda, so it's no surprise that she started her career at a young age. Her first credit goes all the way back to 16960's Tall Story, and she's still starring in movies today, like 2023's 80 for Brady.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman's career really didn't take off on screen until the 1980s (though he had plenty of credits in the '70s, too). He started mostly on stage in the 1960s and kept his focus there until landing a TV gig in 1971 on PBS's The Electric Company. Today, he remains one of America's most beloved stars.

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine made her film debut way back in 1955 and by the 1960s was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Her star has never dimmed in the decades since, either, with memorable roles in Downton Abbey and the live-action The Little Mermaid in 2018.

Dustin Hoffman

When you burst onto the scene in a movie like The Graduate, as Dustin Hoffman did in 1967, it's pretty much a guarantee you're going to be a star. In the 60 years since that seminal movie, Hoffman has won countless awards and starred in everything from comedies like Tootsie to dramas like Rain Man, getting nominated for Oscars for both (and winning his second for the latter).

Faye Dunaway

If you look at a list of the best movies of all time, you'll notice Faye Dunaway in the credits of many of them. Starting with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, right up until the 2020s. She took a small hiatus in the teens, but has been back working regularly since.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell's career started when he was just a kid, often starring in Disney projects. It's even Hollywood folklore that Walt Disney's last words were when he scrawled Russell's name on a piece of paper. Though there is no way to know when the note was written. Still, for the better part of seven decades, Kurt Russell has been a Hollywood superstar.

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren (you know they are important when they get a title like "Dame") started in film in 1966, and that was after having already started acting professionally on stage in the UK. She's never stopped, including starring in the recent hit MobLand on Paramount+

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins' first credited film role came in the Shakespeare adaptation The Lion in Winter in 1968 alongside Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. He's since become one of the most beloved actors of his generation and has won countless awards and accolades.

Jodie Foster

If you look at Jodie Foster's credits, you might think she started in the 1970s as a teenager, but she was starring in commercials as far back as 1967 when she was just three years old.

Jeff Bridges

When you have a legend for a father like Jeff Bridges with Lloyd Bridges, its not hard to understand how he got his start so young. His amazing career in the decades since can only be credited to his immense talent, charm, and charisma on and off screen. And that's not, like, my opinion, man, it's a fact.

Rita Moreno

Puerto Rican superstar Rita Moreno can do it all. She can act, she can sing, and she can dance, and she's been dancing into our hearts since she first way back in 1950! For those of you counting, that's EIGHT decades of excellence.

Judi Dench

Like Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench started in the theater, especially doing Shakespeare plays. Her first professional stage credits date back to 1957, and right up through the 2020s, she's been a favorite of millions. One of the best actors of her generation, it's crazy she's only won one Oscar (for Shakespeare in Love).

Harrison Ford

The first thing you might think of when you think of Harrison Ford is Star Wars or Indiana Jones. It's true that it was those movies in the late '70s and early '80s that made him a superstar, but his career started humbly with roles in movies like A Time for Killing and Luv in 1967.

Sophia Loren

For more than 70 years, Sophia Loren has been a star in Europe and the United States. She started in her native Italy in 1950 before coming Stateside in 1958 when she signed on to star in movies for Paramount. Before long, she was a superstar on both sides of the pond.

Warren Beatty

Like his co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty has been a star in Hollywood for decades. He's also been discerning in the roles he's taken over the years, so he doesn't have a long list of credits like most of the people on this list. That's not because his star dimmed. He's just particular, and that is something we all strive for.

Barbra Streisand

What can we really say about Barbra Streisand? She's a legendary singer and actor, and she's equally well-known for both. There are few stars as enduring and amazing as "Babs."

Robert Redford

Though he is officially retired now, Robert Redford is still one of the biggest Hollywood stars today (and ever). His career started with early roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, and by the time he hung up his cleats, so to speak, the star of The Natural was one of the biggest stars in the history of the industry.

Blythe Danner

Like many on this list, Blythe Danner started her professional career on Broadway and Off-Broadway in the 1960s. Her first movie credit came in 1972, but by then, she was a seasoned pro. She may be best known as the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow these days, but that is selling her way short, as she's been an award-winning actress for decades.

Al Pacino

Famously, Al Pacino entered the American consciousness in 1972's The Godfather, but he'd been working for a few years at that point, mostly on stage. His film debut was in Me, Natalie, alongside Sopranos cast member Nancy Marchand. He has been widely considered one of the best actors of his generation ever since.

Ellen Burstyn

Though her breakthrough didn't come until 1971 with The Last Picture Show, Ellen Burstyn had been picking up small roles on TV shows for years at that point. She has since gone on to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe Award. Not too shabby.

Robert De Niro

When you ask someone who the best actor of the last 60 years is, there is a decent chance Robert De Niro will be the name that comes out of their mouth. For many, many decades, De Niro has been stealing scenes and working his tail off to be the best actor he can be. He's gained weight for roles, dropped weight for others, and gotten completely cut for still others. All the while delivering his trademark charm and skills.

Cher

If you could turn back time and you were taking bets in the 1960s that Cher would still be one of the biggest stars in the world in the 2020s, you would probably get pretty good odds that she wouldn't be. She's proven everyone wrong, winning an Oscar for Moonstruck and continuing to wow audiences with her concerts.

Martin Sheen

It's hard to say just what role Martin Sheen will be best remembered for long after he's gone. Will it be Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing? Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now? Carl Fox in Wall Street? Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg? What is for sure is that Sheen, who landed his first movie role in 1967, will be remembered fondly by millions of fans.

Vanessa Redgrave

English actress Vanessa Redgrave got her star in period pieces like A Man For All Seasons and Camelot in the 1960s. She parlayed that into a decades-long career that is still going, including a role in Cold Storage in 2025.

Ian McKellen

For modern generations, Ian McKellen is known for his roles as Gandalf the Grey and Magneto, but his career is so, so much more. One of the great Shakespearean actors of the last 60 years, he's been starring on stage and screen since the mid-'60s.

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen found her biggest fame in the 1990s with Murphy Brown, but her career started way back in 1966 in the Sidney Lumet film The Group. She was a model before that, and has turned in role after beloved role on TV and in films.

Ron Howard

These days, Ron Howard is pretty much sticking just to directing, and he's an ace director to be sure. He famously started his Hollywood career as a kid in the 1950s and became a child star in the '60s as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. He later starred in Happy Days, before getting behind the camera and becoming one of the great directors of his time.

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn first became a household name in 1968 when she starred in Laugh-In. She's been a star ever since, including starring in a slew of box office hits in the '70s and '80s. There is no question she is one of the funniest actors of her generation, and now she's also the mother to some big stars, too, in Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson. Not a bad legacy to leave.

Patrick Stewart

Like others on this list, Patrick Stewart will be best known for roles that came in the second half of his career, like Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in The X-Men series. Of course, his career is much more than those two roles. It's a career that started in TV in the '60s on British shows like Coronation Street and Civilisation.