- how much I simply enjoy their performances, regardless of what I think of the movies they've starred in;
- the quality and uniqueness of their acting style; and
- how well I connect with them personally.
1. Meryl Streep
No idea where to begin. Sure, she's the queen of the screen now, but I remember when she was an unknown. (Yikes!) Since I first laid eyes on her her in 1979 (Kramer vs. Kramer, in theatres - I was nine!), I've been under her spell. Easily the most talented, versatile, mesmerizing, intelligent, funny, heart-warming actress on the planet today. And of course, beautiful beyond description. Of all the women that have my heart, you're right up there at #3! The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, Ironweed, A Cry in the Dark, Postcards From the Edge, Music of the Heart, Adaptation, The Manchurian Candidate, The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt, Julie & Julia, It's Complicated, The Iron Lady.
2. Helen Mirren
What else can I say? She is the British Meryl Streep! And of course, a brilliant, captivating, and gorgeous actress in her own right. And a Dame to boot! Caligula, Excalibur, 2010, The Mosquito Coast, White Nights, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover, The Madness of King George, Elizabeth I, The Queen, Inkheart, State of Play, The Tempest, RED, Arthur. Coming soon: Hitchcock!
3. Annette Bening
Intense, emotionally-charged, and powerful, even when understated (though that's rare!). Guilty By Suspicion, Regarding Henry, Bugsy, Richard III, The American President, The Siege, American Beauty, Open Range, The Kids Are All Right
4. Julianne Moore
Real, raw, courageous and honest, except when she's just playing it for laughs. No, even then, there's an authenticity and transparency to her performances that ring true every time. The Fugitive, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, A Map of the World, Magnolia, Hannibal, The Shipping News, The Hours, Children of Men, Next, Blindness, A Single Man, The Kids Are All Right, Crazy, Stupid, Love. Coming up: the remake of Carrie with Moore as Mrs. White!
5. Cate Blanchett
As talented as she is stunning, Australia's #1 talent can play it brilliant or dim-witted, dolled up or dressed down, immoral or immortal! Elizabeth, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Pushing Tin, The Shipping News, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bandits, Veronica Guerin, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Aviator, Babel, The Good German, I'm Not There, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Robin Hood, Hanna. Coming not-soon-enough: The Hobbit!
6. Emma Thompson
Comedian, screenwriter, environmental activitist and global development ambassador (for realsies) as well as actress, Thompson has a way of getting into my heart and staying there for a long time. Henry V, Dead Again, Howard's End, Much Ado Aout Nothing, The Remains of the Day, In the Name of the Father, Sense & Sensibility, Primary Colors, Love Actually, The Harry Potter films, Nanny McPhee, Stranger Than Fiction, Last Chance Harvey. Upcoming: Pixar's Brave and Men in Black 3!
7. Vanessa Redgrave
The epitome of class, elegance and fearless acting. Broke my heart when daughter Natasha Richardson died while taking skiing lessons in Quebec with husband Liam Neeson (2009). If you haven't seen much of her work onscreen, it's time to Netflix it up and get to it! A Man For All Seasons, Camelot, Isadora, Mary, Queen of Scots, The Devils, Murder on the Orient Express, Julia, Smilla`s Sense of Snow, Mrs. Dalloway, Deep Impact, Girl, Interrupted, If These Walls Could Talk 2, Atonement, Letters to Juliet, Coriolanus
8. Kate Winslet
C'mon, who doesn't love Kate? Sliding effortlessly from first class seating to the back of the subway, she plays blue blood as easily as street urchin, all the while putting her arm around us with that signature everywoman appeal. Heavenly Creatures, Sense & Sensibility, Jude, Hamlet, Titanic, Hideous Kinky, Holy Smoke!, Quills, Iris, The Life of David Gale, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Little Children, Flushed Away, The Holiday, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Mildred Pierce (HBO), Contagion, and one of my favourite episodes of Extras with Ricky Gervais.
9. Natalie Portman
Born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem, she moved to the U.S. with her family at age three and ten years later blew me and everyone else away as Mathilda, an orphaned assassin-in-the-making in Luc Besson's Leon. She's been wowing us ever since. (I'm just going to pretend I never heard of the planet Naboo.) Leon (a.k.a. The Professional), Heat, Beautiful Girls, Mars Attacks!, Star Wars I-III, Anywhere But Here, Where The Heart Is, Zoolander, Cold Mountain, Garden State, Paris je t'aime, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Other Boleyn Girl, Brothers, Thor.
10. Lena Olin
Beautifully-paced, sexually-charged, and emotionally power-packed performances every time from Sweden's very best actress. No one else like her. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Havana, Mr. Jones, Night Falls on Manhattan, Chocolat, Darkness, The Reader, Remember Me
11. Kirsten Scott Thomas
Okay, there's almost no one else like Lena Olin, the exception being the lovely, brilliant and strangely underestimated Thomas. Four Weddings and a Funeral, Richard III, Microsmos (narrator), The English Patient, The Horse Whisperer, Random Hearts, Life As a House, The Other Boleyn Girl, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Sarah's Key, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
12. Bryce Dallas Howard
Forget that her dad is Richie Cunningham and a prolific director. Bryce stands tall on her own as one of today's best actresses. The Village, Lady in the Water, Spider-Man 3, Terminator Salvation, Hereafter, The Help
13. Nicole Kidman
I'm not going to knock her because she seems to spend more time walking red carpets than making movies or because she used to be married to somebody Cruise. This woman can act and she's fun to watch! Days of Thunder, Far and Away, Malice, My Life, To Die For, Batman Forever, The Peacemaker, Practical Magic, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Others, The Hours, Dogville, the Human Stain, Cold Mountain, The Stepford Wives, Bewitched, Happy Feet, The Golden Compass, Rabbit Hole. Coming soon: Grace of Monaco
14. Viola Davis
Yes, she was wonderful in The Help, but there's a lot more where that came from! Antwone Fisher, Solaris, Disturbia, Doubt, State of Play, Law Abiding Citizen, Eat Pray Love, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
15. Dianne Wiest
The mom we all wanted. A fantastic actress and probably the sweetest woman on the planet. (Well, onscreen, at least.) Falling in Love, Footloose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Lost Boys, Bright Lights, Big City, Parenthood, Edward Scissorhands, The Birdcage, Practical Magic, The Horse Whisperer, I Am Sam, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Dan in Real Life, Synechdoche, New York, Rabbit Hole and TV's Law & Order
16. Judi Dench
Radiating class, confidence and occasional kick-assery, the Dame just knows how to get it done. Love, love, love her! A Room With a View, Henry V, the current James Bond series (M from Goldeneye forward), Hamlet, Mrs. Brown, Shakespeare in Love, Chocolat, Iris, The Shipping News, Pride and Prejudice, Notes on a Scandal, Jane Eyre, My Week With Marilyn, J. Edgar, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Coming next: 007 in Skyfall!
17. Julia Roberts
Sure Pretty Woman was a lot of fun to watch, but back in 1990 I scoffed at the idea that this big-mouthed, goofy, covergirl sister of Eric Roberts (that's right, there was a time when he was more famous than her!) would ever amount to anything. Then over the next two decades, she stole all of our hearts. Who knew? Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman, Flatliners, Hook, Sleeping With the Enemy, The Pelican Brief, Something to Talk About, Michael Collins, Mary Reilly, Conspiracy Theory, My Best Friend's Wedding, Stepmom, Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, Erin Brokovich, The Ocean's trilogy, America's Sweethearts, Mona Lisa Smile, Closer, Charlie Wilson's War, Eat Pray Love, Mirror, Mirror
18. Joan Allen
The ultimate combination of grace, confidence and inner strength. Somehow, she's able to simultaneously convey an all-knowing wisdom and an incurable, borderline-naive optimism at the same time. Brilliant. Manhunter, Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker, In Country, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Nixon, The Crucible, The Ice Storm, Face/Off, Pleasantville, The Contender, The Notebook, The Bourne Supremacy & Ultimatum, The Upside of Anger, Bonneville. Coming soon: The Bourne Legacy!
19. Kiera Knightly
I hate to admit it, I truly do, because her skeleton and freakish underbite have always been, how do I put this nicely, far too visible for my liking. Okay, sometimes she makes me want to chuck a buzz saw at her. But at the end of the day, she really is in my opinion a great actress. Bend It Like Beckham, The original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Love Actually, King Arthur, Domino, Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, The Duchess, Never Let Me Go, A Dangerous Method
20. Ellen Burstyn
To be honest, there are only a couple of her movies that I really like, but I love her in everything I've seen. The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Dying Young, When A Man Loves a Woman, The Spitfire Grill, Playing By Heart, Requiem For a Dream
Hate to do it, but I have to draw the line somewhere. But if beggars could be choosers:
Juliette Binoche, Helena Bonham Carter, Tilda Swinton, Emily Blunt, Miranda Otto, Emily Watson, Julia Ormond, Natasha Richardson
(North) America's sweethearts, past & present:
Ellen Dewhurst, Sissy Spacek, Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Jodie Foster, Jessica Lange, Kathleen Turner, Charlize Theron, Michelle Williams, Holly Hunter, Julianna Margulies, Robin Wright Penn, Frances McDormand, Diane Keaton, Sally Field, Naomi Watts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Debra Winger, Kathy Bates, Diane Lane, Geena Davis, Laura Dern, Laura Linney, Jennifer Connelly, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Shue, Angela Bassett, Alfie Woodward, Dakota Fanning, Joan Cusack, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Stone, Amy Irving, Mary Steenburgen, Anne Hathaway
Goddesses Forever:
Anne Bancroft, Katharine Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, Faye Dunaway, Julie Christie, Jane Fonda, Natalie Wood, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Anne Margaret
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