Animals were harmed in these films
Mary Tyler Moore stars as Sister Michelle, one of three Catholic nuns preparing for their final vows, who are sent to a rough New York neighborhood dressed as lay missionaries to work at a clinic run by Dr. John Carpenter (Elvis Presley). Her daytime attire fools the young medic, who falls for her.
Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) indulges in a friendly rivalry with Father Chuck O'Malley (Bing Crosby) as they both fight to save an inner-city Catholic school from closure in this musical-comedy drama.
This British psychological drama stars Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh, one of a group of nuns struggling to establish a remote convent in the Himalayas.
Paul Verhoeven's biographic drama about Catholic mystic and lesbian nun Benedetta Carlini (1590–1661) stars Belgian actress Virginie Efira. Charlotte Rampling, Lambert Wilson, and Daphne Patakia costar.
Adapted from the 1956 novel of the same name by Kathryn Hulme, itself based on the life of Belgian nun Marie Louise Habets (1905–1986), 'The Nun's Story' stars Audrey Hepburn as Sister Luke.
Julie Andrews stars a Maria, a young novitiate who's sent by her convent to become governess to the seven children of widowed naval officer Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), whom she eventually marries. The movie is based on the 1949 memoir 'The Story of the Trapp Family Singers' by Maria von Trapp (1905–1987).
Shirley MacLaine is Sarah, a prostitute disguised as a nun who teams up with Hogan (Clint Eastwood) to aid a group of Juarista rebels resisting the puppet reign of Emperor Maximilian during the French intervention in Mexico (1861–1867).
In this neo-noir drama, Meg Tilly plays Sister Agnes Devereaux, a novice nun who is discovered with a dead newborn in her quarters. Mother superior Miriam Ruth (Anne Bancroft) and a psychiatrist (Jane Fonda) come into conflict as they investigate mysterious goings-on.
Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) develops a rapport with death row inmate Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) after corresponding with the convicted killer. She agrees to help him try and win an appeal against his impending execution.
Frances McDormand plays strict but loving nun Clara Clavel, who teaches at a Catholic boarding school. Among her charges is a young orphan girl named Madeline who enlists the help of her tutor when the school is threatened with closure.
Jodie Foster dons the habit as the overly repressive Catholic school teacher Sister Assumpta in this comedy-drama, which follows the lives of a group of schoolfriends who engage in a series of pranks and general mischief that tests the patience and resolve of their teachers.
Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) and Sister James (Amy Adams) both question the ambiguous relationship Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is developing with a troubled young black student in this acclaimed drama directed by John Patrick Shanley.
Margaret Qualley is the novitiate in question, a young woman who starts to question her faith as she trains to become a nun in Maggie Betts' directorial debut.
Young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Roman Catholic priest Father Burke (Demián Bichir) become embroiled in the supernatural as they uncover an unholy secret in Romania during the early 1950s.
Pictured: Celeste Holm (left) as Sister Scholastica and Loretta Young as Sister Margaret in a scene from 'Come to the Stable,' which tells the true story of the 1947 founding of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut.
Two youngsters (Hayley Mills and June Harding) run wild in a all-girls Catholic boarding school in Pennsylvania, much to the chagrin of the Mother Superior, played by Rosalind Russell. 'The Trouble with Angels' was directed by Ida Lupino, widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker to come out of Hollywood in the 1950s.
Geraldine Page is Martha Farnsworth, the head mistress of the Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies in rural Mississippi. The ordered routine of the school is rudely interrupted with the arrival of a wounded Union soldier, John McBurney (Clint Eastwood). As he recuperates, McBurney slowly ingratiates himself with the lonely and sexually repressed residents, with terrifying results.
Jennifer Jones stars as Bernadette Soubirous (1844–1879), the French saint whose visions led to the founding of the Marian shrine of Lourdes.
Sources: (Daily Mail) (BBC Culture) (Britannica)
See also: The hottest on-screen clergymen
In this comedy drama, Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Homer Smith. He's pictured reading with Mother Maria (Lilia Skala) in a scene from the film.
Catherine Beddows (Nastassja Kinski) is a member of the Children of the Lord, a mysterious heretical religious order based in Bavaria and headed by a sinister excommunicated priest, Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee). What Catherine doesn't know is that the order is planning to use her as the representative of Satan on Earth.
British director Ken Russell's historical horror picture 'The Devils' has been rarely screened, such is its controversial and disturbing subject matter. Vanessa Redgrave plays Sister Jeanne des Anges, a sexually repressed nun who incites damaging accusations against Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest suspected of witchcraft.
Among the characters appearing in the messy and violent 'Machete' is April Booth (Lindsay Lohan), the self-styled "nun with a gun."
Also known as 'White Sister' and 'The Sin,' 'Bianco, rosso e...' is a comedy film that features Italian actress Sophia Loren as Sister Germana. Directed by Alberto Lattuada, the movie was a commercial success.
Based on the 1939 novel of the same name by Rumer Godden and made into the aforementioned 1947 film, 'Black Narcissus' is a British drama television serial starring Gemma Arterton as Sister Clodagh, a character originally portrayed by Deborah Kerr on the big screen.
Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr) is an Irish nun who forms an unlikely friendship with an American combatant (Robert Mitchum) after they both become stranded on a remote South Pacific island during the Second World War.
One of the most memorable comedy films of the 1990s, 'Sister Act' stars Whoopi Goldberg as lounge entertainer Deloris Van Cartier who is forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. The movie spawned a sequel, 'Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit' (1993).
Raquel Welch portrays Sister Magdalena, a novice nun, who becomes one of the victims of Baron von Sepper (Richard Burton), a 1930's fictional serial killer known as "Bluebeard."
Religion has provided a theme for numerous films and television series, and cinema has seen many actresses portray both fictional and real-life nuns. But who has best starred as a sister?
Click through and take a look at these memorable movie nuns.
Memorable movie nuns to watch
Who best wears the habit?
MOVIES Film
Religion has provided a theme for numerous films and television series, and cinema has seen many actresses portray both fictional and real-life nuns. But who has best starred as a sister?
Click through and take a look at these memorable movie nuns.