Ranking of Best Actress nominees and years so far

1. 1974


2. 1969


3. 1968



4. 1976


5. 1988


6. 2006


7. 1977


8. 2002


9. 1993


10. 2003

11. 1984





1. Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven (2002)




2. Judi Dench in Notes On A Scandal (2006)



3. Maggie Smith in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)



4. Liv Ullman in Face To Face (1976)



5. Katharine Hepburn in The Lion In Winter (1968)



6. Charlize Theron in Monster (2003)



7. Kate Winslet in Little Children (2006)



8. Holly Hunter In The Piano (1993)



9. Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977)


10. Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1976)



11. Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasions (1988)



12. Faye Dunaway in Network (1976)



13. Liza Minnelli in The Sterile Cuckoo



14. Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under The Influence (1974)





15. Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)



16. Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)



17. Patrcia Neal in The Subject Was Roses (1968)


18. Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)


19. Valerie Perrine in Lenny (1974)


20. Genenieve Bujold in Anne Of The Thousand Days (1969)


21. Joanne Woodward in Rachel, Rachel (1968)


22. Jane Fonda in Julia (1977)


23. Jodie Foster in The Accused (1988)


24. Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses Don't They (1969)


25. Meryl Streep in A Cry In The Dark (1988)


26. Diahaan Carol in Claudine (1974)


27. Angela Basset in What's Love Got To Do With It? (1993)


28. Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl (1968)


29. Renee Zellweger in Chicago (2002)


30. Jean Simmons in The Happy Ending (1969)


31. Diane Lane in Unfaithful (2002)



32. Vanessa Redgrave in Isadora (1968)



33. Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl (1977)



34. Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give (2003)



35. Penelope Cruz in Volver (2006)



36. Emma Thompson in The Remains Of The Day (1993)

37. Judy Davis in A Passage To India (1984)



38. Marie Christine-Barrault in Cousin, Cousine (1976)



39. Signourney Weaver in Gorillas In The Mist (1988)



40. Helen Mirren in The Queen (2006)



41. Anne Bancroft in The Turning Point (1977)





42. Naomi Watts in 21 Grams (2003)

43. Jessica Lange in Country (1984)



44. Nicole Kidman in The Hours (2002



45. Keisha Castle Hughes in Whale Rider (2003)

46. Sally Field in Places In The Heart (1984)



47. Shirley Maclaine in The Turning Point (1977)




48. Samantha Morton in In America (2003)


49. Vanessa Redgrave in The Bostonians (1984)



50. Debra Winger in Shadowlands (1993)



51. Melanie Griffith in Working Girl (1988)



52. Stockard Channing in Six Degrees Of Separation (1993)



53. Sissy Spacek in The River (1984)

54. Talia Shire in Rocky (1976)



55. Salma Hayek in Frida (2002)

Best Suupporting Actress project

Hey everyone, I'm just gonna publish this now, since my links to Rabbit Hole are going too slow right now, and I'm dying to post SOMETHING. So, I've decided to, after I'm done with a couple more Best Actress years, to try to see all of the Best Supporting Actress winners and do a ranking of them, like Fritz is doing right now with the Best Picture winners and Sage has done in the past. I've decided on Best Supporting Actress because I've seen very few winners, I need to re-watch the winners I've already seen, and despite the fact it would be fun to a Best Actress ranking like this, I like doing the profiles for that category more. Which is why I'm still going to continue doing them, yes, even when I'm trying to watch all of these movies. See, I'll publish reviews of some of the winner's performances to keep things going and to give you an idea of what my ranking will be, but not all, because that would defeat the purpose of doing the ranking. So, I'll still continue with my Best Actress profiles, but I probably will try to choose years where one of the nominees or the winner is from the same film as a Supporting Actress winner.


So, here are the winners I've seen so far, though,as I said, I will rewatch them all:



1939: Hatte MacDaniel in Gone With The Wind


1951: Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire


1954: Eva Marie Saint in On The Watefront


1957: Miyoshi Umeki in Sayonara (Though I haven't seen her in the context of the movie)


1960: Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry


1961: Rita Moreno in West Side Story

1962: Patty Duke in The Miracle Work

1966: Sandy Denniss in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?

1967: Estelle Parsons in Bonnie And Clyde

1968: Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby (Though not in context of the film)

1971: Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show

1972: Eileen Heckhart in Butterflies Are Free

1974: Ingrid Bergman in Murder On The Orient Express (Though YEARS ago, so don't remember her)

1975: Lee Grant in Shampoo (Though not in context of the film)

1976: Beatrice Straight in Network

1977: Vanessa Redgrave in Julia

1982: Jessica Lange in Tootsie

1985: Anjelica Huston in Prizzi's Honor (Though not in context of film)

1986: Dianne Weist in Hannah And Her Sisters

1987: Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck


1990: Whooi Goldberg in Ghost

1992: Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny

1993: Anna Paquin in The Piano

1994: Diane Weist in Bullets Over Broadway

1995: Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite

1996: Juliette Binoche in The English Patient '

1997: Kim Basinger in L.A Confidential

1998: Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love

1999: Angelina Jole in Girl Interrupted

2000: Judi Dench in Shakespeare In Love

2001: Jenniffer Conelly in A Beautiful Mind

2002: Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago

2003: Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain

2004: Cate Blanchett in the Aviator

2005: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener

2006: Jenniffer Hudson in Dreamgirls

2007: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton

2008: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barecelona

2009: Monique in Precious

2010: Melissa Leo in The Fighter

So, that's it! Any requests for performances you want me to see first? Any Best Actress years requests?

Best Actress 1976: Final thoughts

This was a very strong year. Not as strong as 74 and 69, but still very strong anyway. The fifth and the fourth nominee were easy to rank, but I had a very hard time deciding between Ullman, Spacek, and Dunaway. All of three them gave fantastic performances that are all unique and exceptional . I'm not even 100 % sure that this will be my final ranking, but if I change my mind I will change it.


My ranking of the films:

1. Network

2. Carrie

3. Cousin, Cousine

4. Face To Face

5. Rocky

Best Actress 1976: The Resolution!

5. Talia Shire in Rocky:


Talia Shire gives a bland, nothing performance in which she never tried to expand her character, but instead gave in to the limits of the script.






4. Marie -Chrisine Barrault in Cousin, Cousine:


Although her character is a little too simple, Barrault still gives a subtle, wonderful portrayal that is very enjoyable.






3. Faye Dunaway in Network:

Faye Dunaway is superb as Diana, making her a fascinating, exciting character that never becomes a stereotype.





2. Sissy Spacek in Carrie:


Sissy Spacek gives a low key, beautifully portrayed performance that is simply a marvel. Brilliant work!






1. Liv Ullman in Face To Face:


Although it's never fully explained why Jenny becomes crazy, Liv Ullman doesn't let that bring her down. She gives a devastating, amazingly convincing and realistic performance that never goes over the top.

Best Actress 1976: Sissy Spacek in Carrie

Sissy Spacek received her first Oscar nomination for playing Carrie White in Carrie. Carrie is an outcast at school, bullied by both the students and the teachers alike. At home, she is harassed and tortured by her fantatically religous mother (Piper Laurie). But soon she discovers that she has special powers and that she can control them and she decides that she wants to fit in with everyone else. When a boy asks her to the prom because his girlfriend asked him too, Carrie is at first skeptical, but then she is very happy about it, but things go horribly wrong at the prom and even worse consequenses are to come. Sissy Spacek delivers a beautifully executed performance in Carrie. She doesn't have a lot of show moments, but instead, subtly makes her character work. She is completely believable as a teenager and the eyes and facial expressions are a big asset, as we see what she is thinking and how she must feel being teased by everyone all the time. Her scenes with Piper Laurie are great as well, even though Laurie gets the showier part, Spacek holds her own against her. She is also entertaining in some scenes, handling the black humor very well. When Carrie starts opening up and being herself, Spacek is truly radiant. Of course I'm talking about the prom scene (Which I watched a little on Youtube before I saw the whole film), and Spacek wonderfully shows Carrie's joy at finally being popular and being happy. I won't spoil what happens afterwards for those who haven't seen it, but Spacek is scary and very convincing towards the end. Sissy Spacek took a simple, real approach to Carrie and the result is an outstanding performance that gets

Best Actress 1976: Talia Shire in Rocky

Talia Shire received her second Oscar nomination for playing Adrian in Rocky. Adrian is a shy woman who lives with her brother and works in a pet store. She goes on a date with Rocky Balboa (Syllvester Stalone) and she falls in love with him and when he decides to fight in a boxing match that he is sure to lose, she helps and supports him during his training. Rocky is an uninspired, boring film which isn't very special, and the same goes for Talia Shire. First of all, her role is a Supporting one, not a Leading one, since Adrian isn't really that much of an important part and she doesn''t lead Rocky anywhere. Her role is very underwritten, and she's given pretty much nothing to do in this movie, except support Rocky through all of his troubles and to love him no matter what. She has one great , if short, scene when she confronts her brother when he is yelling at her and Rocky, but this isn't anything incredibly impressive. Talia Shire gives a dull, nothing Oscar-worthy performance which gets

Best Actress 1976: Marie- Christine Barrault in Cousin, Cousine

Marie-Christine Barrault received her first Oscar nomination for playing Marthe, an unhappily married woman, in Cousin, Cousine. Martha meets a man (Victor Lannox) whom she starts to have a relationship with, but they decide to keep it as friends, but they eventually end up together. This isn't a showy, Oscar-like performance at all, but is instead a subtle, engaging one. Barrault uses her charm and personality a lot in this performance and she shows her characters sadness and her longing to have someone to talk to. Her scenes with Victor Lanoux are beautiful and the two really make their relationship completely natural and real. She is luminous and I enjoyed her when ever she was on screen. There were some scenes though(Especially towards the end) where I wasn't paying attention and I finished it a long time after I started watching it, so I might have missed something, but I wanted more out of her performance. I had no problem that her performance was quite and charming, but I wish more had happened with her character and that the story hadn't been so simple. But still, a radiant, beautiful performance that gets

Best Actress 1976: Faye Dunaway in Network

Faye Dunaway received her third Oscar nomination and won for playing Diana Christionson in Network. Diana is an intelligent, yet ruthless woman who would do anything to get ratings up and is power hungry. When she discovers that Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is having an emotional breakdown and going into mad rantings on air, she immediately sees an opportunity to make a huge hit out of Howard's new "insights" into the world and this causes terrible consequences ahead. I couldn't imagine anyone else but Faye Dunaway playing Diana and Faye plays it perfectly. She make's Diana's monolgues about television incredibly mesmerizing and it's like she's grabbed us by the throat and never lets go. Faye brings Diana thrillingly to life without going over the top , and makes her a fascinating character. She never lets Diana become one-note or a stereotype, which any other actress could have done. She and William Holden work superbly together, making their relationship believable and interesting. When he breaks up with her, Faye shows that Diana does know, deep down, what she is and that she is completely immersed in the world of television , so much so that it has become her whole life. Faye Dunaway gives a fabulous performance that adds a lot of depth to both her character and the film, which gets

Best Actress 1976: Liv Ullman in Face To Face

Liv Ullman received her second Oscar nomination for playing D.r Jenny Isaksson in Face To Face. Jenny is a doctor who deals with mental illness, but she suddenly finds herself dealing with it herself with horrifying things to come. In the beginning, Liv Ullman plays Jenny in a subtle, arresting way- Jenny doesn't seem to have any sense of self , or she doesn't seem to know herself, and Ullman plays it perfectly. Jenny is a very difficult role to play, since Ullman must make her mental condition 100% convincing and not to get lost in her disturbing scenes by overracting or not knowing what to do with her character. And Ullman nails this. Another thing that makes her performance so stunning is that not only does she make Jenny's illness completely realistic, but also makes Jenny's struggle with her condition and her relationship with those around her incredibly real and heartbreaking. Liv Ullman gives a towering, mesmerizing performance, a must see, which gets

Best Actress 1976

The next year I'll be doing a profile/ranking on is 1976 and the nominees were:

Marie Christine Barrualt in Cousin, Cousine

Faye Dunaway in Network

Talia Shire in Rocky

Sissy Spacek in Carrie

Liv Ullman in Face To Face

















So, who do think will by pick? Who are you rooting for?

Best Actress winners I have seen so far

I've decided to re-post this, since I'm going to start seeing the winners again. So, here we go. />1937: Luise Rainer in The Good Earth 1939: Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind
1944: Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight
1945: Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce
1949: Olivia Dehavilland in The Heiress
1950: Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday
1951: Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
1952: Shirley Booth in Come Back,Little Sheba
1953: Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
1954: Grace Kelly in The Country Girl
1955: Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo
1956: Ingrid Bergman in Anastasia
1957: Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces Of Eve
1958: Susan Hayward in I Want To Live!
1959: Simone Signoret in A Room At The Top
1960: Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8
1961: Sophia Loren in Two Women
1962: Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker
1963: Patricia Neal in Hud
1964: Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins
1965: Julie Christie in Darling
1966: Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf?
1967: Katherine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
1968: Katharine Hepburn in The Lion In Winter
1968: Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl
1969: Maggie Smith in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie
1971: Jane Fonda in Klute
1972: Liza Minelli in Cabaret
1974: Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1975: Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest
1976: Faye Dunaway in Network
1977: Diane Keaton in Annie Hall
1979: Sally Field in Norma Rae
1981: Katherine Hepburn in On Golden Pond
1982: Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
1983: Shirley Maclaine Terms Of Endearment
1984: Sally Field in Places In The Heart
1985: Geraldine Page in The Trip To Bountiful
1986: Marlee Matlin in Children Of A Lesser God 1987: Cher in Moonstruck
1988: Jodie Foster in The Accused
1989: Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy
1990: Kathy Bates in Misery
1991: Jodie Foster in The Silence Of The Lambs
1992: Emma Thompson in Howard's End
1993; Holly Hunter in The Piano
1994: Jessica Lange in Blue Sky
1995: Susan Sarandon in Dead Man Walking
1996: Frances Mcdormand in Fargo
1997: Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets
1998: Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare In Love
1999: Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
2000: Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovich
2001: Halle Berry in Monsters Ball
2002: Nicole Kidman in The Hours
2003: Charlize Theron in Monster
2004: Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby
2005: Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line
2006: Helen Mirren in The Queen
2007: Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose
2008: Kate Winslet in The Reader

I will continually update this page as I see more winners. If you care to, you can check this post and see if there's an update and if you want to know what I thought about the updated performance, you can ask in the comments. So,what do you think? How many winners have you seen? Any winners you want me to see soon?

My new favorite Best Supporting Actress nominees

I'm combining both of the posts I did before and adding some new nominees in as well and giving my ratings for all of them. So here we go:

1939: Olivia Dehavilland in Gone With The Wind: 4,5/5
1940: Judith Anderson in Rebecca: 5/5
1945: Anne Blyth in Mildred Pierce: 4/5
1945: Eve Arden in Mildred Pierce: 3,5/5
1950: Hope Emerson in Caged: 4,5/5
1950: Thelma Ritter in All About Eve: 4/5/5
1950: Celeste Holm in All About Eve: 3,5/5
1952: Jean Hagen in Singing In The Rain: 4/5/5
1969: Catherine Burns in Last Summer: 4/5
1971: Ellen Burstyn in The Last Picture Show: 5/5
1975: Ronee Blakely in Nashville: 4,5/5
1976: Piper Laurie in Carrie: 4/5
1979: Mariel Hemmingway in Manhattan: 4/5
1982: Terri Gar in Tootsie: 4,5/5
1985: Margaret Avery in The Color Purple: 4/5
1988: Frances Mcdormand in Mississippi Burning: 4/5
1988: Signourney Weaver in Working Girl: 4/5
1994: Jennifer Tilly in Bullets Over Broadway: 4,5/5
1994: Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction: 3,5/5
1995: Mare Winningham in Georgia: 4,5/5
1995: Joan Allen in Nixon: 4,5/5
1995: Kate Winslet in Sense And Sensibility: 4/5
1996: Marianne Jean-Baptise in Secrets And Lies: 4,5/5
1996: Joan Allen in The Crucible: 4/5
1997: Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights: 5/5
1997: Joan Cusack in In & Out: 5/5
1997: Gloria Stuart in Titanic: 4/5
1999: Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry: 5/5
1999: Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich: 4,5/5
2000: Frances Mcdormand in Almost Famous: 4,5/5
2000: Kate Hudson in Almost Famous: 4,5/5
2001: Marisa Tomei in In The Bedroom: 5/5
2001: Kate Winslet in Iris: 4,5/5
2003: Holly Hunter in Thirteen: 5/5
2003: Shoreh Aghdashloo in House Of Sand And Fog: 5/5
2003: Patricia Clarkson in Pieces Of April: 4,5/5
2003: Marcia Gay-Harden in Mystic River: 3,5/5
2004: Virginia Madsen in Sideways: 5/5
2005: Amy Adams in Junebug: 5/5


2006: Rinko Kikuchi in Babel: 5/5
2006: Cate Blanchett in Notes On A Scandal: 5/5
2006: Adrianna Barazza in Babel: 4/5
2007: Amy Ryan in Gone,Baby Gone: 5/5
2008: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler: 5/5
2008: Amy Adams in Doubt: 5/5
2008: Viola Davis in Doubt: 4/5

So, what do you think? Any nominees you didn't like? Any ones you want to see on here?

My new favorite Best Actress nominees

This is pretty much the same list as I did two months ago, but I'm including my number ratings for each nominee. So, here we go:

1941: Bette Davis in The Little Foxes: 4,5/5
1950: Bette Davis in All About Eve: 5/5
1950: Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard: 5/5
1950: Anne Baxter in All About Eve: 4, 5/5
1954: Judy Garland in A Star Is Born: 5/5
1965: Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music: 5/5
1967: Anne Bancroft in The Graduate: 5/5
1967: Faye Dunaway in Bonnie And Clyde: 4,5/5
1968: Patricia Neal in The Subject Was Roses: 4,5/5
1974: Faye Dunaway in Chinatown: 4/5
1976: Sissy Spacek in Carrie: 4,5/5
1977: Marsha Mason in The Goodbye Girl: 4/5
1978: Jill Clayburgh in An Unmarried Woman: 5/5
1983: Debra Winger in Terms Of Endearment: 5/5
1985: Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple: 4, 5/5
1987: Holly Hunter in Broadcast News: 4,5/5
1988: Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasons: 4,5/5
1989: Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys: 3, 5/5
1990: Angelica Huston in The Grifters: 4/5
1991: Geena Davis in Thelma And Louise: 5/5
1991: Susan Sarandon in Thelma And Louise: 5/5
1994: Winona Ryder in Little Women: 4/5
1995: Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas: 5/5
1996: Emily Watson in Breaking The Waves: 5/5
1996: Brenda Blethyn in Secrets And Lies: 4,5/5
1997: Helena Bonham-Carter in The Wings Of The Dove: 4,5/5
1997: Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown: 4/5
1997: Kate Winslet in Titanic: 3, 5/5
1998: Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: 4,5/5
1999: Annette Benning in American Beauty: 4,5/5
2000: Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For A Dream: 4,5/5
2000: Laura Linney in You Can Count On Me: 4,5/5
2001: Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge: 4,5/5
2001: Sissy Spacek in In The Bedroom: 4,5/5
2001: Renee Zellweger in Bridget's Jones's Diary: 4/5
2002: Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven: 5/5
2002: Diane Lane in Unfaithful: 4,5/5
2002: Renee Zellweger in Chicago: 4/5
2004: Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: 5/5
2004: Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake: 4,5/5
2005: Felicity Huffman in Transamerica: 5/5
2006: Judi Dench in Notes On A Scandal: 5/5
2006: Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada: 5/5
2006: Kate Winslet in Little Children: 5/5
2006: Penelope Cruz in Volver: 5/5
2007: Ellen Page in Juno: 5/5
2007: Laura Linney in The Savages: 4,5/5
2008: Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married: 5/5
2008: Melissa Leo in Frozen River: 4,5/5

I will update this page as I see more Best Actress films. Your thoughts? Any ones you like that you see? Don't like? Any nominees you want to see on here?

All of my favorite Best Actress nominees

Since a few fellow bloggers have been doing this, I've decided to make my own complete list of all of my favorite Best Actress nominees.

1950: Bette Davis in All About Eve
1950: Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
1950: Anne Baxter in All About Eve
1954: Judy Garland in A Star Is Born
1965: Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music
1967: Anne Bancroft in The Graduate
1967: Faye Dunaway in Bonnie Clyde
1974: Faye Dunaway in Chinatown
1976: Sissy Spacek in Carrie
1978: Jill Clayburg in An Unmarried Woman
1983: Debra Winger in Terms Of Endearment
1985: Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple
1987: Holly Hunter in Broadcast News
1988: Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasons
1989: Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys
1990: Angelica Huston in The Grifters
1991: Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma And Louise
1994: Winona Ryder in Little Women
1995: Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas
1996: Brenda Blethyn in Secrets And Lies
1997: Helena Bonham-Carter in The Wings Of The Dove
1997: Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown
1999: Annette Benning in American Beauty
2000: Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For A Dream
2000: Laura Linney in You Can Count On Me
2001: Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge
2001: Sissy Spacek in In The Bedroom
2002: Diane Lane in Unfaithful
2002: Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven
2004: Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2005: Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
2006: Judi Dench in Notes On A Scandal
2006: Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
2007: Laura Linney in The Savages
2007: Ellen Page in Juno
2008: Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
2008: Melissa Leo in Frozen River