Joey Magidson
Well folks, we’re back at it! Continuing a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, I’m ranking the newest crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re more than keen to know what you think!
This week, it’s a big one for us, as it’s Best Supporting Actress time. As I like to say, this category can often be a hard one to peg down. Some years, it’s an embarrassment of riches in the category. Other years, it can lag a bit behind. Regardless, the winners are a wide assortment of some of the best the business has to offer. Spoiler alert: I have a controversial number one pick, in that I rank Marisa Tomei‘s turn in My Cousin Vinny as the best of the Supporting Actress Oscar winners. It remains one of the best things that the Academy Awards have ever done. Where does our newest winner, Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All At Once, rank as compared to prior one Ariana DeBose for her role in the remake of West Side Story? Does Curtis even make the cut? Find out below…
Here are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, to date:
25. Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
24. Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck)
23. Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
22. Dianne Wiest (Bullets over Broadway)
21. Hattie McDaniel (Gone with the Wind)
20. Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker)
19. Beatrice Straight (Network)
18. Meryl Streep (Kramer vs. Kramer)
17. Viola Davis (Fences)
16. Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago)
15. Ruth Gordon (Rosemary’s Baby)
14. Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
13. Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
12. Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted)
11. Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon)
10. Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show)
9. Allison Janney (I, Tonya)
8. Mo’Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire)
7. Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite)
6. Rita Moreno (West Side Story)
5. Anna Paquin (The Piano)
4. Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront)
3. Dianne Wiest (Hannah and her Sisters)
2. Kim Hunter (A Streetcar Named Desire)
1. Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny)
Honorable Mention: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)
Stay tuned for another category later on this week or early next week!
Fun Fact: one of my all-time favorite winners is placed right next to one of my all-time least-favorite winners on Joey’s list! I will leave it to you to guess which ones.
There are a few candidates…
Definitely not the strong category that Original Screenplay is as far as winners but still a lot of great ones. I’m sure my list changed a bunch from last year…a lot from recency bias both on the better direction and the worse direction. I love your number 1…it’s one of the best all time wins because it was great that they did it. It was also very deserving, not as high for me but it is one of the best.
1. Meryl Streep – Kramer vs Kramer
2. Kim Hunter – Streetcar Named Desire, A
3. Cloris Leachman – Last Picture Show, The
4. Diane Wiest – Hannah and Her Sisters
5. Olympia Dukakis – Moonstruck
6. Ruth Gordon – Rosemary’s Baby
7. Marisa Tomei – My Cousin Vinny
8. Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
9. Eva Marie Saint – On the Waterfront
10. Rita Moreno – West Side Story
11. Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
12. Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
13. Diane Wiest – Bullets Over Broadway
14. Kim Basinger – LA Confidential
15. Sandy Dennis – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
16. Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
17. Geena Davis – Accidental Tourist, The
18. Mo’Nique – Precious
19. Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard
20. Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost
21. Jane Darwell – Grapes of Wrath, The
22. Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
23. Jo Van Fleet – East of Eden
24. Viola Davis – Fences
25. Laura Dern – Marriage Story
H/M – Blanchett, Hayes, Janney, Jolie, Lange, Parsons, Sorvino, Smith, Weisz, Zeta Jones
It’s definitely a category where personal preference really does end up meaning a lot.
ok I just took a stab at it one of the favorites :Ruth Gordon least favorites Anne Hathaway ?
You never know…
After rewatching a lot this is my current favorite and top choices
1.Catherine Zeta-Jones -Chicago
2.Octavia Spencer – The Help
3.Olympia Dukakis -Moonstruck
4.Youn Yuh -Jung – Minari
5.Mary Steenbergen -Melvin and Howard
6.Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost
7.Linda Hunt -The Year of Living Dangerously
8.Mira Sorvino -Mighty Aphordite
9.Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
10.Marisa Tomei -My Cousin Vinny
11.Marica Gay Harden – Pollock
12.Cloris Leachmen -The Last Picture Show
13.Dianne Weist -Hannah and Her Sisters
14.Regina King -If Beale Street Could Talk
15.Mo’Nique -Precious
16.Goldie Hawn -Cauctus Flower
17.Allison Janney -I Tonya
18 Rita Moreno -West Side Story
19.Patty Duke -The Miracle Worker
20.Meryl Streep -Kramer vs Kramer
21.Viola Davis -Fences
22.Sandy Dennis -Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf
23.Juliette Bionche -The English Patient
24.Jamie Lee Curtis- Everything Everywhere All At Once
25.Rachel Weisz -The Constant Gardner
HM Dianne Weist Bullets Over Broadway,Ariana DeBose West Side Story,Hattie McDaniel Gone With The Wind,Jane Darwell The Grapes of Wrath,Jennifer Connelley A Beautiful Mind, Lupita Naong’o 12 Years A Slave,Laura Dern Marriage Story,Anne Hathaway Les Miserable,Beatrice Straight Network,Anna Paquin The Piano,Brenda Fricker-My Left Foot
Solid list, as always!