Last year’s Best Actress race was one of the most unpredictable and competitive in ages. Five different performers took the Oscar, Golden Globes (since they split between Drama and Musical/Comedy), SAG, and Critics Choice Award.
And, while it’s very early, 2021 appears that it could be a humdinger of a contest yet again. This is the final acting derby I am doing projections on in these initial forecasts. By far, Best Actress was the hardest one to whittle down and there were even potential contenders beyond the 15 listed that I believe could easily get into the mix.
Speaking of those earlier posts, you can peruse them here if you didn’t catch them:
When I did my inaugural 2020 posts in Actress, I correctly identified 2 of the 5 eventual nominees: winner Frances McDormand (Nomadland) and Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). Carey Mulligan was named in Other Possibilities while I did not yet call out Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) or Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman).
Let’s get to the hopefuls for 2021!
EARLY OSCAR PREDICTIONS: BEST ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
Ana de Armas, Blonde
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Jennifer Hudson, Respect
Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Other Possibilities:
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Emilia Jones, CODA
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
Jennifer Lawrence, Don’t Look Up
Thomasin McKenzie, Last Night in Soho
Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World
Margot Robbie, Canterbury Glass
Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Alicia Vikander, Blue Bayou
Rachel Zegler, West Side Story
Best Director is next up!
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