Sorry, Gwyneth: Eight Actresses Who Actually Can Sing

By Robin Wheeler Thu., Feb. 10 2011 at 12:15 PM

In the old days, just being an actress wasn't enough. Everyone had to be a double threat just to keep up with singing actresses like Julie Andrews, Doris Day, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland. But then musicals fell out of fashion and we find ourselves asking, "Why the hell is Gwyneth Paltrow singing at the Grammys this weekend? Didn't we get enough of her awkward warbling at the CMAs last fall?"

(For the record: Apparently Cee-Lo Green invited her, and the Grammy performance will also feature Muppets. Seriously.)

Even though the singer/actress has fallen out of the norm, there are still plenty of actresses profiting from their pipes. While Gwyneth might not be up for doing duets with her Coldplay-crooning spouse anytime soon, here are some gals who are.

Anyone who saw Zooey Deschanel singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" in 2003's Elf wasn't surprised when she found success singing with M. Ward on She and Him's 2008 debut album. She started singing in jazz clubs in 2001, two years after making her film debut.

Jenny Lewis hasn't acted in a long time, but she got her start as a kid with bit parts on sitcoms, including a stint as a snotty brat who battles Rose over a teddy bear on The Golden Girls. The only acting she's done in the past decade was a bit voice job in the animated film Bolt, as she's been busy with her music.

Tags:

actresses, Amanda Seyfried, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jenny Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, She & Him, taylor momsen, The Pretty Reckless, Zooey Deschanel

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Cardizon

Amy Adams can sing.

The point should be made that most contemporary "singers" can barely sing (let alone act)! Modern celebrity culture has changed things so much that comparisons with the talents of Dietrich, Garland can't fairly be made.

maria

gwyneth paltrow's vocals are more than ok. i think there is a correlation between how successful an actress is and how much people hate her if she goes into music.and as much as i love scarlett's musical efforts she murdered this song in this video.

Jenn

Also, Milla Jovovich has a beautiful singing voice! She's good friends with Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of Tool and A Perfect Circle, and has collaborated with him on his solo project, Puscifer! Modeling, zombie-ass-kicking, and music with some of the biggest names in rock, chick's got it all.

I'd ad Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellweger and make it an even ten. Both of them are amazing performers and vocalists in 'Chicago.'

Nicki Escudero

The Pretty Reckless is one of my fave bands! I got to interview Taylor here: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.c...

a2tb

Zooey Deschanel should not be on this list. Her singing is pretty awful.

Jro

Rosie, is there someone on your lawn? and if so, do they need to get off it?

RosieB

I wish I didn't hate nearly all of those actresses. Reese and Amanda have not yet made it onto my 'oh my god, why are you in front of on the screen??' list. And I totally don't count Jenny Lewis, even though she was once a Sunshine Cadet.

IN MY DAY (*disclaimer, this post is written by a 23-year old who has no idea what decade she was born in*), you HAD to be able to sing and/or dance...and, dammit, you had to have the kind of moxie that made them want to put you in front of a camera! And if you COULDN'T really sing, you had to be a damned good actor who was just good enough to fake it so that no one really cared! And then, you didn't go around parading yourself 'singing' on the stage! The stage was reserved for those who didn't have to fake it!

Give me Judy, Debbie, Julie, or Jane and be done with it! (Garland, Reynolds, Andrews & Russell, respectively...dagnabbit.)