Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars is a list of the top 50 stars of American cinema. They were presented by 50 stars of today, adding up to the total of 100 stars. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 16, 1999 and revealed on a CBS special hosted by Shirley Temple.

The list

The legends were presented by 50 current actors:
Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Jacqueline Bisset, Ernest Borgnine, James Caan, Jim Carrey, Chevy Chase, Cher, Kevin Costner, Billy Crystal, Claire Danes, Geena Davis, Laura Dern, Matt Dillon, Richard Dreyfuss, Clint Eastwood, Mia Farrow, Bridget Fonda, Peter Fonda, Morgan Freeman, Teri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Woody Harrelson, Richard Harris, Goldie Hawn, Gregory Hines, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Michael Keaton, Martin Landau, Jessica Lange, Shirley MacLaine, Marsha Mason, Marlee Matlin, Mike Myers, Edward Norton, Edward James Olmos, Miss Piggy, Lynn Redgrave, Julia Roberts, Gena Rowlands, Kevin Spacey, Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Sharon Stone, Barbra Streisand, Billy Bob Thornton, Lily Tomlin, Emily Watson, and James Woods.

List notes

• Lillian Gish has the longest film career of any male or female star - 75 years.

• Laurence Olivier has the longest career span of any male legend - 59 years.

• The list includes four living female legends: Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley Temple, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren.

• The list includes two living male legends: Kirk Douglas and Sidney Poitier.

• Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier and Sophia Loren all had screen debuts in 1950. Jack Lemmon, Paul Newman, Gena Rowlands, Shirley MacLaine, James Earl Jones, James Garner, Diahann Carroll, Leslie Caron, and Clint Eastwood made their screen debuts after 1950 and therefore didn't qualify as legends.

• Ten screen legends also made five duos: Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers and Clark Gable/Carole Lombard. The Marx Brothers are the only legendary team on the list.

• Thirteen legends made the transition from silent movies to sound films: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Barbara Stanwyck, Lillian Gish, Carole Lombard, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, the Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton and Edward G. Robinson.

• Thirteen legends were born outside America: Audrey Hepburn in Belgium, Elizabeth Taylor in England, Ingrid Bergman in Sweden, Greta Garbo in Sweden, Marlene Dietrich - Germany, Claudette Colbert - France, Vivien Leigh - India, Sophia Loren - Italy, Mary Pickford - Canada, Cary Grant - England, Charlie Chaplin - England, Laurence Olivier - England and Edward G. Robinson - Romania

• Eight legends were born in New York: Barbara Stanwyck, Mae West, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Burt Lancaster and the Marx Brothers.

• How the West was Won features the largest number of legends: Henry Fonda, James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck and narrated by Spencer Tracy.

• Slippery Pearls (or Stolen Jools), a 20-minute short film made to benefit a sanitarium for tuberculosis, includes five legends: Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Buster Keaton and Edward G. Robinson.