This years Best Actress award at the 2023 Academy Awards is one of the most competitive categories of the night. It contains a variety of experienced Oscar veterans (including a past winner), as well as newcomers to the scene through the form of first-time nominees.
One of the larger shocks within this category was when Ana De Armas received her well-deserved recognition for her work as Marilyn Monroe in the biopic, Blonde. The film itself was heavily criticised by audiences all around the world when the film was released to Netflix, however, De Armas' performance as the iconic Monroe is the only bright light in an ironically black-and-white movie.
This is De Armas' first Oscar nomination. Her performance follows a number of previous eye-opening turns in popular films such as Blade Runner: 2049 and Knives Out. Alongside De Armas' as first time nominees is Michelle Yeah (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie).
Out of all three first-time nominees, it seems to be Michelle Yeoh that stands the best chance of winning Oscar gold on the big night, as her movie is not only one of the favourites to win the Best Picture award, but also picked up 10 nominations across the board, including three other acting nominations.
The race for the best Actress award has been agonisingly close the past few years, and it could get even closer this year as a certain Miss Cate Blanchett will have no intentions of making it an easy night for Yeoh.
The veteran actress who is already the gatekeeper of two Academy Awards for her work in films such as The Aviator and Blue Jasmine. And on March 13th she could very well have her third Oscar win as she turns in a beautifully orchestrated performance in Todd Field's "Tar".
In this movie, Blanchett portrays renowned musician, Lydia Tar, just days away from recording the symphony that would eventually elevate her career. The Australian actress has already received a number of accolades for her work in this role, and doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.
Blanchett is currently the favourite to take home the award on March 13th, but it won't be some walk in the park as a well over-due Michelle Williams is also nominated alongside Blanchett and won't be going down without a fight.
Williams is nominated for the 5th time this year, but has failed to take home the award on all of her previous 4 nominations. This time around, the actress receives a well-deserved nomination for her work as Steven Spielberg's Mother, in the film "The Fabelmans".
The Fabelmans is a real-life biopic based around the iconic director's life as a child, wanting to grow up and be in the film industry. The character "Sammy Fabelman" is known to be a fictional version of Spielberg as a child, with Williams playing a fictional version of his Mother, who supports her sons interest in the field of filmmaking.
As previously mentioned, Williams is long overdue for the opportunity to take home an Academy Award, whereas Blanchett certainly does not need to worry about this, having just won 10 years ago back in 2013. Will this linger over the minds of The Academy when voting for their favourite female performances this season?
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