WAMPAS Baby Stars

The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. The campaign ran from 1922 to 1934, except for 1930 and 1933.

Most failed to live up to their promotion. However, a small number of the selections went on to become major movie stars: Colleen Moore (1922), Jobyna Ralston (1923), Clara Bow (1924), Janet Gaynor (1926), Fay Wray (1926), Dolores del Rio (1926), Dolores Costello (1926), Mary Astor (1926), Joan Crawford (1926), Loretta Young (1929), Jean Arthur (1929), Joan Blondell (1931) and Ginger Rogers (1932). Gaynor, Astor, Crawford, Young and Rogers all were awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress during their careers, with Gaynor receiving the first one during the first year of the award's existence.

Clara Bow was a Silent era star known as The It Girl. She was Hollywood's greatest female draw at her peak and her final film was in 1933. Bow was also in the first movie to receive the Academy Award for Outstanding Picture, Wings, in 1929. Arthur and Blondell had long and fruitful careers in Hollywood, the former as a lead actress, the latter usually in supporting roles after the Pre-Code era.

Others with significant Hollywood careers included Evelyn Brent (1923), Joyce Compton (1926), Lupe Velez (1928), Constance Cummings (1931, who decamped to England), Frances Dee (1931), and Gloria Stuart (1932, whose career revived in the 1990s and she received a nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Titanic).