9. Norma Desmond - Sunset Boulevard
Norma Desmond is a hard woman to love, but easy to pity. She's a fallen film star, a recluse living in a mansion on Sunset Boulevard surrounded by ghosts and delusions about her lost career. The world has left her behind, but in her mind, she's still as much of a star as she ever was. The audience finds themselves alternatively disgusted by and sympathetic to her deluded attempts to get her second chance at the spotlight. She primps in front of the mirror and piles stage makeup on her face, and our hearts break a little bit for her. Alone in her palace with a devoted servant who feeds her ego, it's easy to see how she became so isolated from the world. Gloria Swanson, herself a former silent film star, imbues the role with an immense sense of theatricality that turns a sad little woman into a larger than life character. The way it's written and performed, the audience can understand the conflicted feelings that Joe Gillis has for her.