Bella Donna

You might recognize Marlo Thomas from her breakthrough role as Ann Marie on 1960s TV show That Girl, or as Jennifer Aniston's mom on Friends. The daughter of actor Danny Thomas, Marlo started her career with a teaching degree, but acting proved to be her passion. Still, she's always found time to work with children, penning books and producing the gender-stereotype-busting recording, Free to Be . . . You and Me, which a certain wee Bella used to love.

Now 72, Marlo knows how to keep life interesting. In a recent interview, the actress, who has been married to talk show host Phil Donahue for almost 30 years, dished on the secret of a successful marriage. "Phil and I are still very interested in each other. We talk about things all the times. We take baths together." Good to know.

To get Marlo's old-school look, it's all about eye-grazing bangs, voluminous locks with layers, and lots and lots of black mascara. Try a matte peach lipstick, on the lips and cheeks, like Sue Devitt Balanced Matte Lipstick in Babylon ($20). And if you really want to amp up the look, for a modernly Marlo style, try a rich ginger-toned hair color, like L'Oreal Feria Multi-Faceted Hair Color in Brazilian Brown ($10).

To see more photos of Marlo, just keep reading.

Nina Simone's first-remembered act of moral resistance occurred at one of her concerts when she was 12. Her proud parents, who were seated in the front row, were told to move to the back so that white attendees could have their seats. Nina, incensed, refused to continue playing until they were given back their rightful place. From then on, her career was marked by vocal, tenacious challenges to inequality.

Despite harm to her viability as a popular artist, she created some of the most memorable songs of the civil rights era, including "Mississippi Goddamn" and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black." In addition, she took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches. She was also one of the first celebrities to embrace her natural hair texture, wearing everything from an afro to a modified hi-top fade. Although commercial success frequently eluded her, many of her songs are now standards of the jazz and soul canons, and she lived to see a resurgence in her popularity during the 1990's.

Her personal life was as tumultuous as her career, and she lived in Barbados, Liberia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland before settling in France, where she passed away after a protracted battle with breast cancer in 2003. We have Nina to thank not only for her music and her style, but for her unwavering sense of fairness and her compelling calls to action. She's an excellent example of someone who refused to be a bystander to injustice and persecution — something we could use a little more of these days.

Winning one award is an accomplishment in itself, but only 10 people have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony — and one of them is Rita Moreno. Best known for her turns in West Side Story and The Electric Company, the triple threat is a legend in film, on stage, and on the small screen.

Like many other Latinas in Hollywood, Moreno initially struggled to find roles that didn't fall into "exotic" cliches and sexpot stereotypes. Even in West Side Story, she was frustrated, as she told NPR's Terry Gross:

"They made me use an accent, which I wasn't thrilled about because a lot of us, obviously, don't have them. The thing that really bothered me the most is that they put the same very muddy, dark-colored makeup on every Shark girl and boy, and that really made me very upset. I tried to get that changed, and I said, 'Look at us. We're all many, many different colors. Some of us are very white, some of us are olive-skinned, some of us actually have black blood, some of us are Taino Indian,' which is the original Puerto Rican. And nobody paid attention, and that was that. I had no choice in the matter, but I was not happy."

As opinionated as she is attractive, Moreno continues to act, appearing on shows such as Oz and Law & Order. We love her for her talent, and for proving that aging gracefully is a beautiful thing.

Florence Griffith-Joyner, or Flo Jo, as most people know her, still holds the world record for the 100 and 200 meter dash 20 years after she last competed and 10 years after her untimely death at age 38. Although rumors of steroid use began to swirl after her stunning 1988 Olympic victories, and she retired only a year before steroid testing was to be implemented, the claims against her were never substantiated, and her records remain untarnished.

Besides being one of the fastest people ever to live, she was also a true beauty icon, an African-American woman with an athletic body and those signature long, perfect nails in a time when the first supermodels were emerging and the "right" look excluded most women of color and anyone who wasn't shaped like a very slender hourglass. She's a beloved figure for her sharp sense of style and work in the community, and she even had her own Barbie doll, outfitted in one of her awesomely '80s one-legged track unitards. Let's hope her records stand for a good, long time.

British-born actress Jacqueline Bisset first became well-known in the late 1960s for her parts in films such as Bullitt, Casino Royale, and Two For the Road, in which she starred with Audrey Hepburn. The wavy-haired actress, now 65, was initially often cast for her stunning good looks, aka "window dressing" roles. In fact, in the late 1970s, Newsweek named her "the most beautiful film actress of all time," and I'm guessing that Andrew McCarthy's character in Class would have to agree. Eventually Jacqueline was taken more seriously for her acting abilities, garnering award nominations for Golden Globes and Emmys.

More recently, she's been seen on Nip/Tuck and has made the transition from sexy screen siren to seasoned actress very successfully, as evidenced by the following statement she once made: "Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades." To get Jacqueline's old-school look, which translates quite nicely into today's makeup palettes, it's all about the dark liner and mascara, along with a tawny blush like Benefit Dallas ($28) and a subtle, nonfussy sheer lipstick like Bare Escentuals Quick-Stick in Escentual Fig ($14). Check out my gallery below for further inspiration.

To see more photos of Jacqueline, just keep reading.

There's no mistaking Eartha Kitt's voice for anyone else's; it's the one that makes "Santa Baby" the world's sexiest Christmas song, and her trademark purr left an indelible mark on Broadway and lounge music alike. But it was her iconically sexy turn as Catwoman in the original television version of Batman that made her a household name. In becoming the ultimate comic book temptress, Eartha became a living (gorgeous) rebuttal to the bigotry and marginalization people of color were faced with in Hollywood and American culture in general. She was a model of the self-possessed, powerful woman, and her personal convictions were as amazing as the characters she played.

Most famously, Eartha, while at a White House luncheon, was asked by then-First Lady Lady Bird Johnson what she thought about the Vietnam War's progress. She responded very calmly, "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot." There was enormous popular backlash against her, but she stood by her statement in the face of career derailment, threats, and pleas from her friends to retract. Such strength of principle and beauty are a rare combination, but Eartha had it. Orson Wells, who was madly in love with her despite her total disinterest in him, once called her the "most exciting woman in the world," and we wholeheartedly agree. Ms. Kitt, you were truly the cat's meow.

A native of Harlem, NY, Cicely Tyson got her start in showbiz after being discovered by an Ebony photographer. Soon, she became a noted fashion model, her high cheekbones and piercing eyes lending a distinctive, alluring look. After appearing in her first film in 1957, she eventually garnered an Academy Award nomination in 1973. Noted for portraying strong women, Cicely has also won three Emmys and several Image Awards.

At 75, the actress and humanitarian is active in charitable organizations like UNICEF and Save the Children and is a founding member of the Coalition for a Healthy and Active America. To copy Cicely's old-school style of the early '70s, dab a shimmery blue or pink cream shadow on the lids, like Avon's Precision Glimmer Powder Eye Shadow in Blue Flare ($8) or Beyond Color Eye Shadow in Iced Mocha ($7). Top off with a sleek bun to complete her sophisticated, vibrant look.

See more photos of Cicely when you read more.

If you need an example of an overachiever, look no further than Beverly Johnson. After a childhood of excelling at sports and in academics, she earned a full scholarship to study criminal justice at Northeastern University. But on the insistence of friends, she decided to try modeling.

That decision certainly paid off, and at 22, she became the first African-American woman to grace the cover of Vogue. "I embarked on this journey of self-discovery from that cover, because after finding out that I was the first woman of color to be on that cover, it angered me," she has said. "I really wanted to take on that kind of responsibility. That cover meant so much to so many people."

Unfortunately, like many models, Johnson's success came at a price. "I think that I will always have an eating disorder," she has said. "I think once you have it, it never leaves you completely." While she may still struggle to overcome her eating issues, she hasn't left the beauty and fashion biz. These days, Beverly is a judge on She's Got the Look, a modeling competition for women 35 and older. She also has a line of wigs and extensions — as well as a daughter who's following in her footsteps (against Beverly's advice) as a plus-size model.

Her sex appeal may have garnered lots of attention, but Lana Turner, née Julia Jean Mildred Francis Turner, was more than just a pin-up girl with a femme fatale image. The well-coiffed actress, who was discovered sipping Coke at a cafe during her high school years, was often referred to as the "Sweater Girl" for her tight-fitting top in They Won't Forget, a film made early in her career.

While Lana was quite an accomplished actress and Academy Award winner, her personal life was tumultuous, to say the least. She was married eight times and struggled with her own personal demons. In fact, she credits her longtime hairstylist and friend, Eric Root, with saving her life. "My hairdresser, Eric Root, took one look at me and said: 'Okay, that's it.' " she told People in 1982. Want to learn more about the screen siren? Find out some interesting beauty facts, along with more pictures of the star, after the break.

To learn more just keep reading.