Carey Mulligan is one of the frontrunners to win the Best Actress Oscar. Photo: Getty
Compared to the crowded Best Actor field, the Actress field is relatively quieter. While there surely are deserving contenders, the lack of powerful buzzed about performances has been publicized. The following are the most probable contenders, listed by likelihood.
FRONTRUNNERS
Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia. Photo: Columbia Pictures
MERYL STREEP (JULIE & JULIA)
It’s Meryl Streep playing Julia Child in a critically acclaimed performance. The legendary actress has been nominated three times this decade already. Need I say more? Movie Clip
Carey Mulligan as Jenny Miller in An Education. Photo: Sony Classics
CAREY MULLIGAN (AN EDUCATION)
As Jenny Miller, the naïve but intelligent 16-year-old who is seduced by a 30-year-old man, Mulligan is astounding. It’s a star-making performance that is unlikely to go unnoticed. Movie Clip
Gabourey Sidibe as Clareece "Precious" Jones in Precious. Photo: Lionsgate
GABOUREY SIDIBE (PRECIOUS)
Also a newcomer, Sidibe embodies the role of Precious is heart-breaking in a very tough and demanding role. Seeing how the film has hit a chord with critics and moviegoers nationwide, this nomination is also a guarantee. Movie Clip
STRONG POSSIBILITIES
Helen Mirren as Sofya Tolstoy in The Last Station. Photo: Sony Classics
HELEN MIRREN (THE LAST STATION)
Judging by the trailer and the reviews, Oscar-winner Mirren looks to have hit another one out of the park as Sofya Tolstoy, the troubled and long-suffering wife of writer Leo Tolstoy. The actress picked up the Best Actress award at the 2009 Rome International Film Festival for her performance. Movie Clip
Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star. Photo: Apparition
ABBIE CORNISH (BRIGHT STAR)
Young star Cornish received strong buzz for her role as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion’s film about the doomed romance between Brawne and poet John Keats. Movie Clip
Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. Photo: Warner Bros
SANDRA BULLOCK (THE BLIND SIDE)
Respected star Bullock has been having the best year of her career with the success of The Proposal and now The Blind Side, which has fetched her some of the best reviews of her successful career. With the likelihood of her scoring double nominations at the Golden Globes very strong, her chances at the Oscars should increase. Movie Clip
Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini in Nine. Photo: The Weinstein Company
MARION COTILLARD (NINE)
It’s hard to stick out of a cast dominated with Oscar winning actresses but according to many early reviews, Cotillard seems to do just that. Playing the sympathetic role of the adulterous film director’s suffering wife, Cotillard looks increasingly likely as a nominee. Her chances of a nomination will depend on the success of the film. Movie Clip
Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones. Photo: Paramount
SAOIRSE RONAN (THE LOVELY BONES)
Young Ronan, already a nominee for her supporting role in Atonement in 2007, gets a much bigger, showier role as a brutally raped and murdered teenager who watches her family and her killer from the after-life. Like Cotillard, her nomination will be based on the film’s reception – which has been mixed so far. Movie Clip
ALSO IN PLAY:
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria)
Penelope Cruz (Broken Embraces)
Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel)
Robin Wright Penn (The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee)
PREDICTIONS:
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
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