Glamour has been a long-standing tradition in the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival, which started on Sept. 20, 1946. In the classic Cannes days, Hollywood stars like Natalie Wood, Liz Taylor and Sophia Loren brought their sophisticated style to the French Riviera.
Gene Kelly, actor, dancer, singer and all-time Hollywood heartthrob, brought his leading lady, wife Betsy Blair, to the Cannes Film Festival on April 26, 1952.
American actor and director Orson Welles hit the dance floor with actress Anne Baxter at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1953.
Legendary artist Pablo Picasso and his wife Francoise Gilot arrived at the premiere of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film “The Wages of Fear” during the International Cannes Film Festival on April 16, 1953.
Grace Kelly, the stunning Hollywood star, style icon and future Princess of Monaco, signs autographs for her adoring fans at the Cannes Film Festival on April 8, 1953.
The gorgeous Brigitte Bardot donned a bikini while lounging on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival in 1953.
Sophia Loren is the true epitome of classic Hollywood glamour. The actress’ jaw-dropping white dress at Cannes in 1955 (l.) is one of the most infamous in the film festival’s history. Loren is also seen here at the festival in 1959 (r.).
Looking every bit a princess, Grace Kelly looked positively regal at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, just one year before tying the knot with Prince Rainier III and becoming the Princess of Monaco.
One of the highest profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida made quite the entrance when she attended the Cannes Film Festival during the height of her career in 1955.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, left, and Dawn Addams, the actress wife of Prince Vittorio Massimo, pictured at the Cannes Film Festival during a party at the Ambassadeurs nightclub on May 7, 1955.
Grace Kelly headed to the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 as an American delegate. It was at this festival that she met her future husband, Prince Rainier III. The next year, Grace Kelly would become the Princess of Monaco, marrying the Prince in April 1956.
Style icon and French actress Brigitte Bardot brought plenty of glamour to the star-studded event, donning her famed cat-eye liner in April 1956.
Illustrating why she was dubbed the “Festival Bomb” at the Cannes Film Festival, actress Kim Novak is hustled through the crowd of media to attend an evening performance on April 25, 1956.
Ingrid Bergman is snapped from all sides by a crowd of photographers at Cannes, France on May 16, 1956.
Elizabeth Taylor and her third husband producer Michael Todd attended Cannes together in their first year of marriage in 1957. Taylor’s diamond tiara, given to her by Todd, is one of the most glamorous pieces of jewelry worn at the festival to date.
Leave it to the Italian actress Sophia Loren to bring plenty of glitz and glam to the Cannes Film Festival. Here, Loren sends photographers into a frenzy as they snap photos of the star making her grand entrance on May 5, 1958.
Cary Grant and Kim Novak made quite the splash at Cannes in 1959. The pair danced at the screening of “Middle of the Night.”
Actress and sex symbol Carroll Baker was surrounded by photographers at Cannes while wearing a bikini.
Sidney Poitier looks dapper at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, for the showing of his film “A Raisin in the Sun,” on May 13, 1961. At right is actress Jean Seberg.
Natalie Wood stunned aboard a yacht at Cannes in 1962. Wood was in the height of her fame for “Splendor in the Grass” (1961), which she co-starred in with Warren Beatty.
A beaming Natalie Wood is captured by photographers at Cannes on May 1, 1962.
Alfred Hitchcock and his leading lady, Tippi Hedren, headed to Cannes in 1963 to promote “The Birds.” As always, Tippi was the center of Hitchcock’s attention.
American actress and Playboy Playmate Jayne Mansfield slips into a bikini while vacationing in The South of France for the Cannes Film Festival, seen here at Cannes in 1964.
French actress Catherine Deneuve has been a mainstay at the Cannes Film Festival for years. She’s seen here at Cannes in 1964, hiding from the rain under an umbrella. Deneuve’s film “Dancer in the Dark” received Cannes’ highest award the Palme d’Or.
Bombshell Sophia Loren waved to photographers in a bright green dress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1964.
At the height of her Bond girl fame, Ursula Andress graced the Cannes Film Festival. Andress notoriously starred as Honey Ryder in 1962’s “Dr. No.” The Swiss actress is seen here in the 1960s at the film festival.
True to form, American comedian Jerry Lewis fooled around with photographers at the Cannes Film Festival on Sept. 23, 1965. The funny man appeared in about fifty films in the 1950s and 1960s, such as “My Friend Irma” with Dean Martin, and directed different films like “The Nutty Professor.”
John Lennon and his first wife Cynthia Powell are spotted here en route to Cannes from London back in 1965. The two divorced in 1968, paving the way for Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono.
James Bond does Cannes! A young Sean Connery is seen at Cannes in 1965. That year the Scottish actor played James Bond for the fourth time in “Thunderball.”
Hungarian actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor dazzled at Cannes in the 1960s.
“Easy Rider” stars Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson take it easy with two lovely ladies at Cannes in 1969. The counterculture biker film won Dennis Hopper the Best First Work Award at Cannes that year.
Always one to put on a show, Liza Minnelli teamed up with Gilbert Becaud to celebrate a film the actress-come-singer starred in called “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon” at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.
John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono walk on the Croisette in Cannes on May 5, 1971. They are presenting their films “Apothesis” and “The Fly” at the 25th Cannes International Film Festival.
While he’s most famous for working behind the camera, iconic film director Alfred Hitchcock certainly knows how to work in front of the camera too. Hitchcock posed on a boat before attending the Cannes Film Festival in May 1972, just eight years before his death.
Just years before his death, John Lennon and Yoko Ono attended the Cannes Film Festival during the 1970s.
American film director Francis Ford Coppola was awarded his first Palme d’Or for “The Conversation” in 1974. He’s seen here at Cannes receiving his award with Tony Curtis.
Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t stop flexing his muscles at Cannes in 1977, where he presented his “Pumping Iron” documentary.
Tony Curtis arrived at Cannes in 1985 in style. He’s seen next to the picturesque Carlton Intercontinental Hotel.
Princess Diana’s iconic pale blue silk chiffon strapless dress at Cannes was created by one of her favorite designers, Catherine Walker. The then-Princess of Wales attended Cannes with Prince Charles in May 1987.
