Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions is a list of the top 100 greatest love stories in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 11, 2002, in a CBS television special hosted by Candice Bergen.

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are tied for the most films in the list, with six each. They co-starred in two of them – Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Audrey Hepburn has five movies on the list putting her in second place.

The list

#FilmDirectorYearActressActor
1CasablancaMichael Curtiz1942Ingrid BergmanHumphrey Bogart
2Gone with the WindVictor Fleming1939Vivien LeighClark Gable
3West Side StoryRobert Wise Jerome Robbins1961Natalie WoodRichard Beymer
4Roman HolidayWilliam Wyler1953Audrey HepburnGregory Peck
5An Affair to RememberLeo McCarey1957Deborah KerrCary Grant
6The Way We WereSydney Pollack1973Barbra StreisandRobert Redford
7Doctor ZhivagoDavid Lean1965Julie Christie Geraldine ChaplinOmar Sharif
8It's a Wonderful LifeFrank Capra1946Donna ReedJames Stewart
9Love StoryArthur Hiller1970Ali MacGrawRyan O'Neal
10City LightsCharlie Chaplin1931Virginia CherrillCharlie Chaplin
11Annie HallWoody Allen1977Diane KeatonWoody Allen
12My Fair LadyGeorge Cukor1964Audrey HepburnRex Harrison Jeremy Brett
13Out of AfricaSydney Pollack1985Meryl StreepRobert Redford
14The African QueenJohn Huston1951Katharine HepburnHumphrey Bogart
15Wuthering HeightsWilliam Wyler1939Merle OberonLaurence Olivier
16Singin' in the RainGene Kelly Stanley Donen1952Debbie ReynoldsGene Kelly
17MoonstruckNorman Jewison1987CherNicolas Cage
18VertigoAlfred Hitchcock1958Kim NovakJames Stewart
19GhostJerry Zucker1990Demi MoorePatrick Swayze
20From Here to EternityFred Zinnemann1953Deborah Kerr Donna ReedBurt Lancaster Montgomery Clift
21Pretty WomanGarry Marshall1990Julia RobertsRichard Gere
22On Golden PondMark Rydell1981Katharine HepburnHenry Fonda
23Now, VoyagerIrving Rapper1942Bette DavisPaul Henreid
24King KongMerian C. Cooper Ernest B. Schoedsack1933Fay WrayKong Bruce Cabot
25When Harry Met Sally...Rob Reiner1989Meg RyanBilly Crystal
26The Lady EvePreston Sturges1941Barbara StanwyckHenry Fonda
27The Sound of MusicRobert Wise1965Julie AndrewsChristopher Plummer
28The Shop Around the CornerErnst Lubitsch1940Margaret SullavanJames Stewart
29An Officer and a GentlemanTaylor Hackford1982Debra WingerRichard Gere
30Swing TimeGeorge Stevens1936Ginger RogersFred Astaire
31The King and IWalter Lang1956Deborah KerrYul Brynner
32Dark VictoryEdmund Goulding1939Bette DavisGeorge Brent
33CamilleGeorge Cukor1936Greta GarboRobert Taylor
34Beauty and the BeastGary Trousdale Kirk Wise1991Paige O'HaraRobby Benson
35GigiVincente Minnelli1958Leslie CaronLouis Jourdan
36Random HarvestMervyn LeRoy1942Greer GarsonRonald Colman
37TitanicJames Cameron1997Kate WinsletLeonardo DiCaprio
38It Happened One NightFrank Capra1934Claudette ColbertClark Gable
39An American in ParisVincente Minnelli1951Leslie CaronGene Kelly
40NinotchkaErnst Lubitsch1939Greta GarboMelvyn Douglas
41Funny GirlWilliam Wyler1968Barbra StreisandOmar Sharif
42Anna KareninaClarence Brown1935Greta GarboFredric March
43A Star Is BornGeorge Cukor1954Judy GarlandJames Mason
44The Philadelphia StoryGeorge Cukor1940Katharine HepburnCary Grant James Stewart
45Sleepless in SeattleNora Ephron1993Meg RyanTom Hanks
46To Catch a ThiefAlfred Hitchcock1955Grace KellyCary Grant
47Splendor in the GrassElia Kazan1961Natalie WoodWarren Beatty
48Last Tango in ParisBernardo Bertolucci1973Maria SchneiderMarlon Brando
49The Postman Always Rings TwiceTay Garnett1946Lana TurnerJohn Garfield
50Shakespeare in LoveJohn Madden1998Gwyneth PaltrowJoseph Fiennes
51Bringing Up BabyHoward Hawks1938Katharine HepburnCary Grant
52The GraduateMike Nichols1967Katharine RossDustin Hoffman
53A Place in the SunGeorge Stevens1951Elizabeth TaylorMontgomery Clift
54SabrinaBilly Wilder1954Audrey HepburnHumphrey Bogart
55RedsWarren Beatty1981Diane KeatonWarren Beatty
56The English PatientAnthony Minghella1996Juliette Binoche Kristin Scott ThomasNaveen Andrews Ralph Fiennes
57Two for the RoadStanley Donen1967Audrey HepburnAlbert Finney
58Guess Who's Coming to DinnerStanley Kramer1967Katharine Hepburn Katharine HoughtonSpencer Tracy Sidney Poitier
59PicnicJoshua Logan1955Kim NovakWilliam Holden
60To Have and Have NotHoward Hawks1944Lauren BacallHumphrey Bogart
61Breakfast at Tiffany'sBlake Edwards1961Audrey HepburnGeorge Peppard
62The ApartmentBilly Wilder1960Shirley MacLaineJack Lemmon
63SunriseF. W. Murnau1927Janet Gaynor Margaret LivingstonGeorge O'Brien
64MartyDelbert Mann1955Betsy BlairErnest Borgnine
65Bonnie and ClydeArthur Penn1967Faye DunawayWarren Beatty
66ManhattanWoody Allen1979Diane KeatonWoody Allen
67A Streetcar Named DesireElia Kazan1951Vivien LeighMarlon Brando
68What's Up, Doc?Peter Bogdanovich1972Barbra StreisandRyan O'Neal
69Harold and MaudeHal Ashby1971Ruth GordonBud Cort
70Sense and SensibilityAng Lee1995Emma Thompson Kate WinsletHugh Grant Alan Rickman
71Way Down EastD. W. Griffith1920Lillian GishRichard Barthelmess
72RoxanneFred Schepisi1987Daryl HannahSteve Martin
73The Ghost and Mrs. MuirJoseph L. Mankiewicz1947Gene TierneyRex Harrison
74Woman of the YearGeorge Stevens1942Katharine HepburnSpencer Tracy
75The American PresidentRob Reiner1995Annette BeningMichael Douglas
76The Quiet ManJohn Ford1952Maureen O'HaraJohn Wayne
77The Awful TruthLeo McCarey1937Irene DunneCary Grant
78Coming HomeHal Ashby1978Jane FondaJon Voight
79JezebelWilliam Wyler1938Bette DavisHenry Fonda
80The SheikGeorge Melford1921Agnes AyresRudolph Valentino
81The Goodbye GirlHerbert Ross1977Marsha MasonRichard Dreyfuss
82WitnessPeter Weir1985Kelly McGillisHarrison Ford
83MoroccoJosef von Sternberg1930Marlene DietrichGary Cooper
84Double IndemnityBilly Wilder1944Barbara StanwyckFred MacMurray
85Love Is a Many-Splendored ThingHenry King1955Jennifer JonesWilliam Holden
86NotoriousAlfred Hitchcock1946Ingrid BergmanCary Grant
87The Unbearable Lightness of BeingPhilip Kaufman1988Juliette BinocheDaniel Day-Lewis
88The Princess BrideRob Reiner1987Robin WrightCary Elwes
89Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Mike Nichols1966Elizabeth Taylor Sandy DennisRichard Burton George Segal
90The Bridges of Madison CountyClint Eastwood1995Meryl StreepClint Eastwood
91Working GirlMike Nichols1988Melanie GriffithHarrison Ford
92Porgy and BessOtto Preminger1959Dorothy DandridgeSidney Poitier
93Dirty DancingEmile Ardolino1987Jennifer GreyPatrick Swayze
94Body HeatLawrence Kasdan1981Kathleen TurnerWilliam Hurt
95Lady and the TrampWilfred Jackson Hamilton Luske Clyde Geronimi1955Barbara LuddyLarry Roberts
96Barefoot in the ParkGene Saks1967Jane FondaRobert Redford
97GreaseRandal Kleiser1978Olivia Newton-JohnJohn Travolta
98The Hunchback of Notre DameWilliam Dieterle1939Maureen O'HaraCharles Laughton
99Pillow TalkMichael Gordon1959Doris DayRock Hudson
100Jerry MaguireCameron Crowe1996Renée ZellwegerTom Cruise

Criteria

The list uses the following criteria:

Feature-length fiction film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes long. American film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. Love story: Regardless of genre, a romantic bond between two or more characters, whose actions and/or intentions provide the heart of the film’s narrative. Legacy: Films whose "passion" have enriched America’s film and cultural heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.