What Hollywood's Hottest Actors From The 1970s Look Like Today

The idea of what's hip, stylish, and attractive to the pop-culture-consuming masses can change dramatically with each passing year. During the 1970s — long before social media influencers rose to prominence and won over fans with their curated images and sharply-produced content — grittier, mature celebrities were making waves.

Actors like Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro were brash and brooding on the big screen, playing flawed characters like R.P. McMurphy and Travis Bickle. Farrah Fawcett was making fans swoon as a modern-day pin-up girl, and Robert Redford was effortlessly charming moviegoers as Hollywood's golden boy. However, a half-century has passed since the era of "Rocky," Led Zeppelin, and the Watergate scandal, and the stars whose names graced theater marquees at the time have aged and changed dramatically in the interim.

Here's a rundown of what some of Hollywood's hottest actors from the 1970s look like now in the age of TikTok.

Though his acting work spans decades, Al Pacino rose to prominence during the 1970s with iconic performances in films like 1972's "The Godfather" (and its 1974 follow-up), 1973's "Serpico," 1975's "Dog Day Afternoon," and others.

"'Godfather' was such a wonderful film, and that character — this is someone who never wanted to be what he was. I think that's part of his tragedy," Pacino told NPR in 2024.

Now, in the 2020s, Pacino is still practicing his craft, appearing in 2026's "Killing Castro." In June 2026, he was recognized for his lifelong contributions to theatre and film with the Sam Wanamaker Award.

Warren Beatty was a certified Hollywood heartthrob during the 1970s. In addition to making fans swoon with his screen presence in films including 1974's "The Parallax View," 1975's "Shampoo," and 1978's "Heaven Can Wait," he bolstered the mythos surrounding him with his bachelor lifestyle and litany of famous lovers. Throughout the decade, he romanced the likes of Julie Christie, Britt Ekland, Diane Keaton, and others.

He and his "Bonnie and Clyde" co-star, Faye Dunaway, made unfortunate waves in 2017 with a now-infamous best picture flub at the Oscars. Other than that, though, Beatty has been content to live a headline-free life since appearing in his last film in 2016.

She may be best-known to younger generations as Kate Hudson's mother, but Goldie Hawn is a legend of film and television dating back to before the 1970s, when she was a cast member on NBC's "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." After winning an Oscar for her performance in the 1969 film "Cactus Flower," she went on to appear in movies including 1974's "The Sugarland Express," 1975's "Shampoo" (alongside Warren Beatty), 1978's "Foul Play," and many others.

In November 2025, Hawn officially became an octogenarian, and she hasn't appeared in a film since 2020's "The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two," in which she played Mrs. Claus.

A veritable action icon, Sylvester Stallone rose to prominence during the 1970s via his role as Rocky Balboa. As the story goes, the producers who were interested in Stallone's first "Rocky" script wanted a different actor — a bankable star like Ryan O'Neal or Burt Reynolds – to lead the cast of the 1976 classic. Stallone ultimately stuck to his guns, refusing to sell the screenplay unless he could play the part, and the rest is history.

These days, Stallone — who still strikes an imposing figure — has been snapped using a cane, but he continues to star in projects like the Paramount+ series "Tulsa King."

Jacqueline Bisset's cachet as an actor and Hollywood sex symbol exploded in the 1970s. During a busy decade, she starred in films like 1973's "Day for Night," 1974's "Murder on the Orient Express," and others. She was once described in Newsweek as "the most beautiful screen actress of our time" (via Daily Mail).

She continues to turn heads in her 80s, too, and she has some advice for others looking to maintain their youthful glow. "If you don't want to age or swell like alcoholics, don't use salt," she mused while receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Torino Film Festival in 2025 (via Variety).

One of Hollywood's most bankable stars of the '80s, '90s, or any decade, really, Harrison Ford gave his most memorable performances in what might be his most iconic role as Han Solo in 1977's "Star Wars" and 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back" (to use their original titles).

These days, he continues to draw rave reviews on the Apple TV+ comedy series "Shrinking." However, he still remembers his starving artist days, recalling a 15-year period when acting "was not yet paying the bills" and he was supporting his family with "carpentry jobs" during his 2026 Arizona State University commencement speech.

John Travolta's small-screen success as Vinnie Barbarino on the ABC sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" led to a star turn with 1977's "Saturday Night Fever" and 1978's "Grease." His boyish good looks and charisma even led Time magazine to declare that "Travolta fever" was sweeping the land in an April '78 issue (via Los Angeles Times). 

Travolta is still making waves with his personal appearance and style choices now. He shaved his head on a whim in 2019, bringing an end to years of speculation about his hairline. More recently, he has embraced berets as part of his new signature look, while continuing to work steadily in film.

Jane Fonda blew up in the 1960s with performances in 1965's "Cat Ballou," 1968's "Barbarella, (which elevated her to sex symbol status), and other movies. In the 1970s, though, her acting chops were recognized in a greater capacity when she won the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in 1971's "Klute" and 1978's "Coming Home." 

In the meantime, she established herself as a powerful force for change. As of this writing, as she's approaching her 90th year, she's still beautiful — and still advocating on myriad sociopolitical and environmental fronts.

The only original cast member of "Charlie's Angels" to appear on all five seasons of the ABC crime drama, Jaclyn Smith joined Farrah Fawcett and other members of the show's ensemble in becoming pin-up material during the 1970s. However, "Charlie's Angels" isn't her sole claim to '70s fame; she also appeared in a number of memorable TV movies. She also found success as a designer in the '80s with her Kmart clothing line.

Still a stunner, Smith credited "clean living" and "being loved" as the secret to her age-defying appearance while reuniting with fellow former "Angel" Kate Jackson to celebrate their show's 50th anniversary in 2026 (via Fox News).

Make no mistake, Robert De Niro has been acclaimed as one of the greatest actors of his or any other generation for decades. However, his best work may have come during his 1970s breakout period. It was during the decade of disco and Richard Nixon that De Niro turned in memorable performances in all-time great films like 1974's "The Godfather Part II," 1976's "Taxi Driver," and 1978's "The Deer Hunter."

De Niro is still one of Hollywood's top stars today, although he's now in his 80s and firmly in his grandfather era.

Before "Tron" and his later turn as The Dude, Jeff Bridges first found Hollywood fame during the 1970s. He garnered his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in the 1971 Pete Bogdanovich film "The Last Picture Show." From there, he appeared in films like 1974's "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," 1976's "King Kong" remake, and 1978's "Somebody Killed Her Husband," to name a few.

These days, Bridges is well into his 70s and a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor. He's still a big Tinseltown name, showing up as an aged version of Kevin Flynn in 2025's "Tron: Ares." 

Screen icon Jessica Lange's cinematic coming-out party occurred alongside Jeff Bridges in 1976 when she made her screen debut in "King Kong." Three years later, she starred with Roy Scheider in the musical drama "All That Jazz."  

Lange continues to work and turn heads in the 2020s — her return to FX's anthology series, "American Horror Story" is set for 2026 after an eight-year absence. She has long lamented the "idea of what happens to an actress in Hollywood at a certain age," telling People in 2024, "Maybe it was more extreme back then in the '40s and '50s and '60s, but it certainly hasn't changed that much."

Meryl Streep — the greatest living actor, by By some accounts — first found her big screen mojo during the 1970s. As the decade drew to a close, she drew raves with her performances in films including 1978's "The Deer Hunter" (which netted her an Oscar nom), 1979's "Manhattan," and "Kramer vs. Kramer" the same year (for which she was honored with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). 

Even now in the 2020s, Streep commands a high salary as an actor. According to a 2026 Variety report, "Devil Wears Prada 2" performance yielded Meryl Streep a $12.5 million paycheck, with additional money coming by way of box office bonuses.

In her first-ever big screen foray, Cybill Shepherd starred alongside Jeff Bridges in 1971's "The Last Picture Show." That role set her up for success throughout the decade, during which she appeared in 1972's "The Heartbreak Kid," 1976's "Taxi Driver" (in which she shared the screen with Robert De Niro), and several other films.

Now in her 70s, Shepherd hasn't appeared on-screen since 2023. However, she has reconnected with her former TV co-stars, Bruce Willis and Christine Baranski. "I'm very grateful for that," she told People of reconnecting with Willis amid his dementia diagnosis.

Bo Derek became a bona fide Hollywood sex symbol almost right out of the gate in 1979 with her appearance in the film "10." All it took was a dream sequence in the film that featured her running on the beach in a flesh-toned one-piece swimsuit with her hair in cornrows to send her hurtling toward Hollywood's A-list.

That iconic scene notwithstanding, she has a particularly measured view of physical beauty now as her career has slowed. "I realize how artificial it is, beauty," Derek told CBS News in 2015. "I realize that it doesn't last forever, that's for damn sure." 

Another 1970s icon whose career spanned several decades, Clint Eastwood was fully in his "Dirty Harry" era during those years. His first three appearances in the role came during the '70s, in 1971's "Dirty Harry," 1973's "Magnum Force," and 1976's "The Enforcer." He also starred in hits including 1974's "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," 1976's "The Outlaw Josey Wales," and 1978's "Every Which Way but Loose."

The legendary actor and director — who is closer to 100 than 90 now — hasn't appeared in a new film since 2021's "Cry Macho." "Clint lives his life at an extremely gentle pace these days," a source reportedly told the National Examiner in 2026 (via Yahoo).

Jack Nicholson's legendary acting career exploded during the 1970s with a multitude of memorable projects and roles. After showing out in 1969's "Easy Rider," he went on to star in 1970's "Five Easy Pieces," 1971's "Carnal Knowledge," 1973's "The Last Detail," Roman Polanski's iconic noir film "Chinatown" in 1974, and Miloš Forman's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975 (which netted him an Oscar for Best Actor).

Many years have passed since Nicholson last appeared in a film — in 2010's "How Do You Know?" — and the screen icon is nearly 90, as of this writing. He is living in retirement away from the lights.

Long before Gal Gadot wielded the golden lasso, Lynda Carter put her spin on the Wonder Woman character on ABC's "Wonder Woman" and its CBS continuation, "The New Adventures of Wonder Woman," in the mid-to-late 1970s. And while her outfit famously left little to the imagination, Carter has pushed back hard against the notion that the character is too sexy to be a feminist icon.

"She's an iconic defender, she's archetypal. It's the ultimate sexist thing to say that's all you can see, when you think about Wonder Woman, all you can think about is a sex object," Carter told The New York Times in 2016.

The only Bond girl on this list, Britt Ekland may be the most openly aware of her sex symbol status at the height of her powers during the 1970s. During a 2013 episode of "Piers Morgan's Life Stories," Ekland recalled Warren Beatty taking her to an adult film in an effort to woo her and being overcome himself. While recounting the incident, Ekland joked, "Wouldn't you, if you were at the ... movie with me?"

After becoming a star via performances in films like 1971's "Get Carter," 1973's "The Wicker Man," 1974's "The Man with the Golden Gun," and others, Ekland maintained her screen presence through the '80s.

Once dubbed the "Queen of Women" by her "Jackie Brown" director, Quentin Tarantino, Pam Grier was a pioneer and a key figure of the 1970s blaxploitation movement. Her breakout performance came in the 1973 film "Coffy," which she followed up with another iconic performance in 1974's "Foxy Brown." Grier has continued to work into the 2020s, too. These days, Grier, who never married or had kids, is in her late 70s and her life is as full as ever.