Noun
the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play
an artless innocent young girl (especially as portrayed on the stage)
an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl
Source: WordNetI spend a lot of time at my son's school and I really wanted to do a movie that the kids could see. The good thing about being my age and not having to be the ingenue anymore is that I get to be a mom. I get to have kids in my movies. Virginia Madsen
When you say you're 40, you can't call yourself an ingenue any more. Molly Ringwald
Onstage, I was never the ingenue. Kristen Johnston
I think of myself more as a character actor than that ingenue leading lady, who started out something like Michelle Pfeiffer, or Jessica Lange. I'm a bit quirkier than that. Joan Allen
Not that it was Twiggy's fault, but the ubiquity of her image created a sense in young women that to be stylish meant to be skinny, flat-chested with an ingenue face and straight hair. Susie Orbach
I couldn't be an ingenue today, because the business has changed. I remember when you could dress for a premiere just by putting on a cute top. Now you have to be perfect and fabulous in every way, or you're ridiculed. Julia Roberts