Joey Magidson
Believe it or not, the last couple of installments for this series are here. As a reminder, this is a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, where I’m ranking the new 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 definitely keen to know what you think!
Today brings the Best Actress category into focus. As you might imagine, there’s an embarrassment of riches here, and whomever you’re partial to, you won’t be alone. Hell, just with Frances McDormand, one of our more recent winners in Actress, she has three separate Oscars to choose from, all of which are high quality. You’ll be able to see where her win for Nomadland ranks below, but for me, tops in this category is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall, with Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs and Hilary Swank for Boys Don’t Cry not far behind. Ironically, both Foster and Swank have other Academy Award wins in this category that rank highly for me, as you’ll see next, along with where a prior winner in Jessica Chastain falls for her turn in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, as well as our second newest champion in Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once. What of Emma Stone‘s second win for Poor Things? The wait is over…
Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Oscar for Best Actress, to date:
25. Julie Andrews – Mary Poppins
24. Shirley MacLane – Terms of Endearment
23. Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
22. Kathy Bates – Misery
21. Ellen Burstyn – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
20. Helen Hunt – As Good As It Gets
19. Emma Stone – La La Land
18. Ingrid Bergman – Gaslight
17. Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire
16. Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
15. Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
14. Olivia Colman – The Favourite
13. Jodie Foster – The Accused
12. Frances McDormand – Fargo
11. Meryl Streep – Sophie’s Choice
10. Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby
9. Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind
8. Louise Fletcher – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
7. Natalie Portman – Black Swan
6. Elizabeth Taylor – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
5. Charlize Theron – Monster
4. Emma Stone – Poor Things
3. Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs
2. Hilary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry
1. Diane Keaton – Annie Hall
Honorable Mentions: Cher – Moonstruck, Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Brie Larson – Room, Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Julia Roberts – Erin Brockovich
Stay tuned for the next category early on next week!
Always a challenging category there are so many that could be in the top five or ten
25.Audrey Hepburn -Roman Holliday
24.Simone Signoret -Room At The Top
23.Glenda Jackson -A Touch of Class
22.Bette Davis -Jezabel
21.Julianne Moore -Still Alice
20.Brie Larson -Room
19.Sally Field -Norman Rae
18.Jodie Foster -The Accused
17.Frances Mc Dormand -Fargo
16.Barbra Streisand -Funny Girl
15.Maggie Smith -The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
14.Anne Bancroft -The Miracle Worker
13.Jodie Foster -The Silence of The Lambs
12.Jessica Chastain -The Eyes of Tammy Faye
11.Cher -Moonstruck
10.Meryl Streep -Sophie’s Choice
9.Ingrid Bergman -Gaslight
8.Liza Minnelli -Cabaret
7.Julie Andrews -Mary Poppins
6.Sophia Loren -Two Women
5.Judy Holliday -Born Yesterday
4.Ellen Burstyn -Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
3.Kathy Bates-Misery
2.Michelle Yeoh-Everything Everywhere All At Once
1.Charlize Theron -Monster
HM
Hilary Swank- Boys Don’t Cry,Patricia Neal -Hud,Jane Fonda-Klute ,Marlee Matalin -Children of A Lesser God,Natalie Portman-Black Swan ,Olivia Colman -The Favorite ,Katharine Hepburn- Guess Who’s Coming To dINNER.
For sure! Emma Stone ended up placing much higher than I initially expected.
I don’t know about you but I do so much second guessing that’s partly why my rankings can change .I am trying to get a solid top five and then let the rest vary if something changes.I also rank some higher that I don’t forget even it I have watched it for a while. I can never forget Kathy Bates!
Oh for sure!
I, sadly, cannot share in your enthusiasm for the winning performances of the Academy’s latest two-time champ in this category, but I will always hold up this particular category as responsible for the most deserving two-time acting winner ever:
25) Joan Crawford – Mildred Pierce
24) Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
23) Julia Roberts – Erin Brockovich
22) Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs
21) Patricia Neal – Hud
20) Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
19) Glenda Jackson – Women in Love
18) Olivia Colman – The Favourite
17) Julie Andrews – Mary Poppins
16) Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
15) Diane Keaton – Annie Hall
14) Emma Thompson – Howards End
13) Liza Minnelli – Cabaret
12) Claudette Colbert – It Happened One Night
11) Hilary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry
10) Frances McDormand – Fargo
9) Janet Gaynor – 7th Heaven
8) Marie Dressler – Min and Bill
7) Elizabeth Taylor – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
6) Ellen Burstyn – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
5) Charlize Theron – Monster
4) Barbra Streisand – Funny Girl
3) Vivien Leigh – Gone with the Wind
2) Holly Hunter – The Piano
1) Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire
Fair enough!
[…] Saoirse Ronan become the youngest actress ever to receive two Best Actress Oscar nominations before the age of 30? The Irish star is generating major buzz for her performance […]
No one from the 1940s?
Gaslight fell off in previous updates