leading lady
19
3.1
- noun
- /ˈliːdɪŋ ˈleɪdi/
:
actriz principal
- The leading lady of the play delivered a powerful performance that received a standing ovation.
- the leading lady in Hollywood
- the leading lady in the film
- glamorous leading lady
I think in that way, leading ladies within mainstream cinema also started feeling that there is something more that we should aspire to.
- I think in that way, leading ladies within mainstream cinema also started feeling that there is something more that we should aspire to.
Examples
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Jennifer Aniston played a maid in Friends with Money, but she plays the leading lady, a romantic, gorgeous go-getter in every other movie.
Blog text (29) -
Everything I ever hoped for in a leading lady.
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You never got to be the leading lady, did you?
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Well, well, here comes our lovely leading lady now.
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The leading lady was great.
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Well now that we have a leading lady again maybe the director should walk us through the beats of the first act.
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The people from the hotel are coming to the carnival to see our show, to see our little leading lady... who has a new dress.
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After all, how can there be a leading man in a love story without a leading lady, or a king of the ball without his queen?
Academic text (1997) -
Nadine Velazquez is taking off as the leading lady in "Flight" movie.
Blog text (17) -
Now that she is 19, Selena is ready to make the transition from cute child star to glamorous leading lady.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
279
4.6
The main person who is in charge of a group or activity
How Prominent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an actress who plays the principal female role' is directly derivable from 'leading' (foremost, principal) + 'lady' (a woman), yielding 'the principal woman/actress.' This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition and follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.
Etymology
The term leading lady comes from the stage, where the leading person is the one who leads the story and the lady is the woman who plays the main part. So it means 'an actress who plays the main female role'.