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The year is 1952 and the nominees are:

1. Kathryn Hepburn - The African Queen 

2. Vivien Leigh - A Streetcar Named Desire 

3. Eleanor Parker - Detective Story 

4. Shelley Winters - A Place in the Sun 

5. Jane Wyman - The Blue Veil

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In 1952 Vivien Leigh won her second Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire. This film swept the acting categories with Best Supporting Actress  going to Kim Hunter, Best Supporting Actor going to Karl Malden, but a surprise loss in Lead Actor for Marlon Brando (he was truly robbed). Parker and Winters gave fine performances in their respective films but they were very brief and one could argue category fraud for supporting. Who do you think should have won? 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Cathryn Naiker as they discuss. 

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The year is 1969 and the nominees are:

1. Katharine Hepburn - The Lion in Winter

2. Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl

3. Patricia Neal - The Subject Was Roses

4. Vanessa Redgrave - Isadora 

5. Joanne Woodward - Rachel, Rachel

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In 1969 Ingrid Bergman presented the Oscar for Best Actress and was stunned when she opened the envelope revealing a tie for Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn. Up until this point in Academy history there had only ever been a tie twice. First in 1932 for Best Actor and a second in 1950 for Best Documentary Short Subject. In those days you could tie with a margin of difference of 3 votes. However in 1969 both Hepburn and Streisand had to have equal number of votes to win, and they did (allegedly (technically no way to prove they didn’t))! Two fantastic performances were rewarded that night but we don’t believe in ties on Best Actress Podcast! Tune in to find out who we think the Oscar should have gone to in 1969! 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Fiona O’Brien as they discuss.

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The year is 1940 and the nominees are:

1. Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind

2. Bette Davis - Dark Victory 

3. Irene Dunne - Love Affair 

4. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka

5. Greer Garson - Goodbye, Mr. Chips

In 1940 Vivien Leigh won the Oscar for Best Actress and is regarded, by some, as the greatest Best Actress Oscar win of all time. A role which Bette Davis admitted as being furious for not being cast in. If you’ve seen ‘Feud’ they make a few funny jokes about this. Although Davis did not play Scarlett, she still was a nominee that year for Dark Victory, playing a woman with a terminal brain tumour. Irene Dunne and Greta Garbo give really fun rom-com performances in Love Affair and Ninotchka (you can watch these films on YouTube). Greer Garson became a first time nominee in a brief, but memorable, performance in Goodbye, Mr. Chips. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Leigh winning this Oscar but it’s fun watching these performances. Who do you think should have won?

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Joe Arsenal as they discuss.

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The year is 2021 and the nominees are:

1. Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday

   2. Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

   3. Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

   4. Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

   5. Frances McDormand - Nomadland

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In 2021 Frances McDormand won her third Best Actress Oscar for Nomadland. McDormand currently has the second most Best Actress Oscars won to date with three (Katharine Hepburn has four). Nomadland stars McDormand as Fern, a woman who packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. Vanessa Kirby plays a woman who loses her child in a home birth. She has some amazing scenes with Ellen Burstyn (really thought she should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress). Carey Mulligan received her second Best Actress nomination for Pieces of a Woman (first for An Education). Andra Day made her screen debut in The US vs. Billie Holiday delivering an exceptional performance with incredible vocals. She could have won this Oscar but the movie/script really fails her. Viola Davis stars as Ma Rainey, famous blues singer, in a very well acted but terribly boring film (sorry not sorry) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Ted Morris as they discuss.

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The year is 2022 and the nominees are:

1. Nicole Kidman -  Being the Ricardos

   2. Penélope Cruz - Parallel Mothers

   3. Kristen Stewart - Spencer

   4. Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

   5. Olivia Colman - The Lost Daughter 

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In 2022 Jessica Chastain won her Oscar (finally) for portraying the iconic televangelist, Tammy Faye. Chastain has incredible range and she certainly does not disappoint in this larger than life role. Was it my personal fav performance of hers? You’ll have to listen to the episode to find out! Frankly, you could make an argument for any one of these performances as winsome. I think it was time to reward Chastain for her incredible body of work. Maybe the spoiler would have been Cruz or Kidman; I think many thought this was going to happen. Colman was semi-fresh off her recent win for The Favourite so a win was not likely. I was so happy to see Stewart get a nomination (finally) and it stands as a victory for so many reasons. Who do you think should have won?

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Jesse Reynolds as they discuss.

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The year is 1965 and the nominees are:

1. Kim Stanley - Seance on a Wet Afternoon

   2. Debbie Reynolds - The Unsinkable Molly Brown

   3. Sophia Loren - Marriage Italian Style

   4. Anne Bancroft - The Pumpkin Eater

   5. Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins

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In 1965 Julie Andrews victoriously won the Best Actress Oscar for her iconic role as Mary Poppins. It was a bit of a musical vs musical of Mary Poppins vs My Fair Lady in the Best Picture category and was a snub for Audrey Hepburn in the best actress category. Andrews made Eliza Doolittle famous on Broadway and was the expected choice for the role but when Jack Warner wanted a more bankable star and gave it to Hepburn the public sunk their teeth into the drama. The win for Poppins was seen as a consolation prize for this ‘injustice’ to Andrews. This made Julie Andrews insecure about the win for decades and left her Oscar in her attic. She has since seen the win for what it is, a true accomplishment (I mean MP was her first movie EVER), and Oscar is now proudly displayed on her mantle for all to see. Each performance nominated this year is so different and was a very interesting one to dissect.

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Robert Watson as they discuss.

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The year is 2014 and the nominees are:

1. Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

   2. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

   3. Sandra Bullock - Gravity

   4. Judi Dench - Philomena

   5. Amy Adams - American Hustle 

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In 2014 Cate Blanchett won the Oscar for her haunting performance in Blue Jasmine playing a New York socialite whose privileged life has come crashing down around her after her husband’s disgraced business dealings lands him in jail and eventually leads to his suicide. In Sophia Loren’s memoir “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: My Life”, the screen legend reveals that she still absorbs inspiration from other actors to enhance her own acting, saying, “Recently, I was struck by the last scene in Blue Jasmine, where Cate B has an expression on her face I’d never seen before. That expression crept inside me, and it lies there waiting to germinate a new plant, a new flower” - high praise. Also nominated was Meryl Streep playing a verbally abusive, drug addicted matriarch dying of cancer. Always love when Streep plays someone truly vile. Sandra Bullock was nominated for the panic attack known as Gravity. For many fans this nomination was a redemption for the controversial/lack lustre win for ’The Blind Side’ and it does not disappoint. Judi Dench delivers a heart breaking performance in Philomena searching for her son after Irish nuns sold him with her consent in the early 1950’s.  Finally, Amy Adams becomes a first time nominee in the lead category playing a foxy con artist who uses her sexuality and wits to get what she wants in American Hustle. 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Cathryn Naiker as they discuss.

[ For full episode catalogue please subscribe to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BestActress ]

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The year is 1971 and the nominees are:

1. Glenda Jackson - Women in Love

   2. Jane Alexander - The Great White Hope

   3. Ali MacGraw - Love Story

   4. Sarah Miles - Ryan’s Daughter

   5. Carrie Snodgress - Diary of a Mad Housewife

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In 1971 Glenda Jackson won her first Oscar for Women in Love, a film that was very controversial for the time. It was banned in many countries due to its nudity and male on male naked wrestling (oh my). Jackson was not present at the ceremony as she believed, for both her Oscar wins, that she did not deserve the award. You have a lot of very different performances here and it’s tricky picking which was truly the ‘best.’ Sarah Miles in Ryan’s Daughter was an amazing performance but the movie was borderline hated by critics. This was Jane Alexander’s film debut reprising her Tony winning role in The Great White Hope. Not bad for your first film! Ali MacGraw starred opposite Ryan O’Neal in Love Story playing a tragic Romeo & Juliet figure. Finally Carrie Snodgress was nominated for Diary of a Mad Housewife, a drama/comedy film that was insane for all the right and wrong reasons.

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Bryan Hatt as they discuss.

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The year is 1975 and the nominees are:

1. Valerie Perrine - Lenny

   2. Faye Dunaway - Chinatown

   3. Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence

   4. Ellen Burstyn - Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

   5. Diahann Carroll - Claudine

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In 1975 Ellen Burstyn won the Best Actress Oscar for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. This was arguably one of the most competitive years in Best Actress history. Each one of these nominees could have easily walked away with the award. In fact, they each won other ‘Best Actress’ awards for their respected roles leading up to the Oscars. I think for me personally it just comes down to personal taste. One of the best years to discuss! 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Josh Murray as they discuss. 

[ For full episode catalogue please subscribe to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BestActress ]

The year is 2012 and the nominees are:

1. Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

   2. Viola Davis - The Help

   3. Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

   4. Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

   5. Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs

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In 2012 Meryl Streep won her third Oscar (second for Lead Actress) playing Margaret Thatcher in The Iron lady. She swept award season with this performance. Weinstein’s angle during the campaign season was that Meryl hadn’t won since Sophie’s Choice- she was over due. This award seemed to be in the bag for Streep until Viola Davis showed up to the table with her incredible performance as Aibileen in The Help. A role she would later express regret toward due to the film’s white saviour narrative. White saviour narrative aside - it’s a heartbreaking performance and a real contender for this Oscar. Rooney Mara made her Oscar debut in the Hollywood version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The original role was played by Noomi Rapace. Michelle Williams played Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn; which she won the Golden Globe for. Glenn Close received her 6th Oscar nomination for playing Albert Nobbs, a woman disguised as a man trying to survive in 19th century Ireland. Very strong year! 

Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Fiona O’Brien as they discuss.