I’ve compiled a list of great performances by women in “old” movies that every young actress (and every young woman) should see. It’s sort of a “hipster edition” since there are bound to be a few performances you may not be familiar with. I hope these will inspire you as much as they’ve inspired me!

1. Maggie Smith in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969)

Millennials know Dame Maggie best as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series or as The Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey. But she had a long career before she became a castle-dwelling sassy old lady. Smith plays the title character: a controversial teacher at an all girls’ school in 1930’s Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the unpredictability of her character and the refreshing originality of the story that make this film so compelling. Jean Brodie is an enigma, yet Maggie Smith brings her to life with charm, vivacity and fearlessness in this Oscar-winning performance!

2. Julie Harris and Ethel Waters in The Member of the Wedding (1952)

This one’s a two-hander. Although 26 years old at the time, Julie Harris believably plays a troubled 12-year-old tomboy named Frankie who lives in a small southern town. Ethel Waters plays her housekeeper, Berenice. Frankie yearns to belong to something: a club, a group of friends, anything. Her aching is tangible and something we can all relate to, because we were all 12 years old once. Julie Harris’ groundbreaking performance was a total game-changer. Ethel Waters is extraordinarily convincing as Frankie’s patient, but stern maternal figure. She breaks your heart as she bravely faces the bigotry of the time.

3. Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Meryl Streep’s performance as Joanna Kramer is as luminous as her hair in this film. Joanna is a mother who leaves her husband and her young son with very little explanation. After being away for a long time, she returns and applies for custody of her little boy. The film is studded with stellar performances all around, but Ms. Streep’s courtroom monologue (which she improvised!) is truly a standout moment. It takes a great actress to make the audience want to hate the character and root for her at the same time. Her work in the film earned her a second Academy Award.

4. Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

If you like The Hunger Games, you’ll really like this film. But before Jennifer Lawrence, there was Jane Fonda. She plays a tough, jaded young woman who enters a dance marathon during the Great Depression to compete for prize money. The concept of a dance marathon sounds sort of funny at first, but this movie is anything but comical. The contest turns out to be an actual ‘hunger game’ and Jane Fonda as the unapologetic Gloria fights her way through it without a bow and arrow. The movie and Ms. Fonda’s performance are a study in raw human nature and the extremes we are capable of. Warning: You’ll be dealing with this movie in your mind for at least 24 hours after the credits roll. It’s one of those.

5. Greer Garson in Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Another example that not all superheroes wear capes! Greer Garson earned an Oscar for her portrayal of a British housewife and mother during WWII. Even though she is not a literal soldier like her son, she does battle on the home front every day. Garson fights valiantly as Mrs. Miniver: she protects her children and beloved community, stands up to an enemy soldier who breaks in to her home, and drives through London like a boss in the middle of an air-raid.

6. Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind (1939)

Hattie McDaniel plays Mammy, a slave and the one true rock in Scarlett O’Hara’s life in this epic classic. McDaniel shows us a woman who is stern, wise, loyal and loving. In a scene towards the end after (spoiler alert) Scarlett and Rhett’s young daughter dies in a tragic horseback riding accident, Ms. McDaniel delivers a startling monologue. Tears stream down her face as her stoic façade crumbles. Her performance won her an Oscar, making her the first African American ever to win an Academy Award.

7. Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993)

The sharp-witted Emma Thompson plays Miss Kenton, a woman hired to work as a housemaid in an English nobleman’s house just before the start of WWII. Her arrival at the estate causes a stir, as she is sassy and challenges the butler’s traditional ways. She and the butler form a strong bond of friendship that always teeters on the brink of something more. Think of a British Ross and Rachel... if they were in service... in the 1940’s… Anyway, she puts her heart out on the line completely for him (and the audience) and it’s beautifully painful.

8. Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass (1961)

A young Natalie Wood plays Deanie in this eye-opening film, an exposé about the dangers of feeding a young woman the idea that her purity is her greatest value. A high school student in a conservative Kansas town, Deanie is torn between her love for her boyfriend Bud and the pressure from her parents to remain a “good girl.” This inner contradiction causes trouble and Natalie Wood navigates difficult nervous breakdown scenes with haunting truth. But Deanie regains her strength and despite heartbreak and misfortune, she realizes that her self-worth is not measured by anything that has to do with her body. This is a performance that all young women should see.

9. Juanita Moore in "Imitation of Life" (1959)

Ms. Moore plays Annie Johnson, a maid to a Caucasian actress and single mother. Despite class differences, the two women raise their daughters together in a world of luxury and privilege. It is 1958 and Annie’s daughter who is light-skinned and passes for white, realizes that she could lose everything if people find out she is actually a person of color. She denies her mother and her heritage, which causes Annie extreme heartache. Ms. Moore accesses a mother’s desperation as she tries to keep her beloved daughter, while grappling with the fact that she is an embarrassment to her. Annie may be considered a second-class citizen by her society, but Juanita Moore’s first-rate performance keeps Annie from being a victim.

10. Maureen O’Hara in The Quiet Man (1952)

This performance is a study in “Objective.” Maureen O’Hara plays Mary Kate Danaher, a spitfire in a small Irish village in the 1920’s. At a time in which women were treated like property, she fights fiercely for her dowry and her individual rights. Fighting for furniture and lace doilies may not seem like a juicy conflict on paper, but onscreen it's intense. We see that these things matter deeply to her and that's what makes it valid.

11. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine in The Children’s Hour (1961)

Another dynamic duo: Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine portray teachers who own a boarding school together. Their reputations become tarnished when they are falsely accused of having a sexual relationship. But it is through the lie that the truth unravels. Shirley MacLaine as Martha confesses a deep secret to Audrey Hepburn’s Karen. In the end, Karen has a badass moment: Nick Miller from New Girl would classify it as a “Goosebumps Walkaway.”

12. Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles (1974)

Wait, what? A Mel Brooks movie? Yes. Madeline Kahn may just be my favorite actress and it’s not (only) because we have the same name. Although her total screen time adds up to 10 minutes and 57 seconds, she was nominated for an Oscar! She plays Lili von Schtupp, a Teutonic woman who serenades cowboys in a saloon with the hilarious anthem: “I’m Tired.” The character is a totally ridiculous spoof of itself, yet Madeline Kahn plays Lili with the utmost sincerity.