MOST LIKELY
1. MERYL STREEP (AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY)
Oscar Record: 17 nominations, with wins for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, and The Iron Lady
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Violet Weston, ailing, pill-popping matriarch of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family.
Another Oscar-bait role for a legendary actress. Only that she so recently won can go against her. She's gotten nominated for less (and for some less than stellar films).
MAYBE
2. CATE BLANCHETT (BLUE JASMINE)
*Formerly #3
Oscar Record: 5 nominations, with a win for The Aviator
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: A New York housewife in crisis.
From the just released trailer, the role looks really meaty, and we all know how amazing Cate Blanchett is and how great Woody Allen is with actresses. Blanchett also has The Monuments Men, which might prove to be a more high-profile film and role.
POSSIBLE
3. MARION COTILLARD (THE IMMIGRANT)
*Formerly #4
Oscar Record: 1 nomination and win for La Vie en Rose
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Ewa Cybulski, an innocent immigrant separated from her sister and tricked into a life of burlesque.
She probably narrowly missed out on a nomination this year for Rust and Bone, but this role, her first starring role in English, is probably flashier and more dynamic. She always turns in great work. It received a lot of praises in the Cannes Film Festival, although that's fairly typical of work turned in by Cotillard.
4. SANDRA BULLOCK (GRAVITY)
*Formerly #9
Oscar Record: 1 win and nomination for The Blind Side
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Dr. Ryan Stone, an astronaut stranded in space.
As a strong female character (an astronaut) who has to survive drifting alone in space, this has the potential for powerful drama. However the film is received, Bullock might give a knock-out performance that would prove too difficult to ignore.
5. JULIE DELPY (BEFORE MIDNIGHT)
Oscar Record: No nomination (as actress), 1 nomination for writing
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Celine, one-half of one of cinema's most beloved couples, 18 years since we first met her.
Multi-hyphenate Julie Delpy may have gotten close to an acting nomination nine years ago with Before Sunset. Hopefully, this presumably last turn as Celine will get her that at least.
OTHERS
6. Nicole Kidman (Grace of Monaco)
Oscar Record: 3 nominations, with a win for The Hours
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Grace Kelly, celebrated Hollywood star and eventual princess of Monaco.
7. Judi Dench (Philomena)
*Formerly unranked
Oscar Record: 6 nominations, with a win for Shakespeare in Love
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Philomena Lee, a woman who searches for her now adult son decades after she was forced to live in a convent.
8. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
*Formerly unranked
Oscar Record: 2 nominations, with a win for Silver Linings Playbook
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Rosalyn Rosenfeld, wife of the con man Irving Rosenfeld.
9. Naomi Watts (Diana)
*Formerly #10
Oscar Record: 2 nominations, no win
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Princess Diana of Wales in her last two years.
*Formerly #8
Oscar Record: 5 nominations, with a win for The Aviator
Pre-Oscar Citations: None
Role: Rose Valland, French art historian and military captain, one of the most decorated women in French history.
Other Contenders
Berenice Bejo (The Past)
Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers)
Dakota Fanning (Effie)
Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring)
Charlotte Gainsbourg (Nymphomaniac)
Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club)
Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha)
Jennifer Hudson (Winnie)
Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin)
Jennifer Lawrence (Serena) (*Formerly #2)
Nicole Kidman (Stoker)
Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby) (*Formerly #7)
Emmanuelle Seigner (Venus in Fur)
Amanda Seyfried (Lovelace)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
Emma Watson (The Bling Ring)
Kate Winslet (Labor Day)
Reese Witherspoon (Devil's Knot)
