Now we've come to my hand-selected picks of 2014's best leading ladies. These five unbelievably talented actresses gave unforgettable performances this year. The nominees range from up-and-comers, to breakthrough stars, to legendary ladies, to the incomparable Meryl Streep. With acting like this, all five of them should be Hollywood mainstays for years to come.
Favorte Actress Nominees:
Rosamund Pike | as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl |
 | Let's be brutally honest for a moment. How many of you knew who Rosamund Pike was before Gone Girl? I, for one, had no idea, and she's been an actress for over twelve years! Now the more important question. How many of you will forget her after having seen Gone Girl? I'm guessing no one. She killed it in this role, and her character Amy Dunne will surely be haunting the hearts of men for the next dozen years. |
Shailene Woodley | as Hazel Grace Lancaster in The Fault in Our Stars |
 | I know I'm not the only one that fell head-over-heels in love with Shailene Woodley as Hazel Grace in The Fault in Our Stars. I found her to be fascinating and adorable. Her character is an unfortunate young victim of cancer, who has accepted her condition, and just wants to live a normal life. That is until Augustus Waters enters her world and shows her there is still life to be lived and love to be had in spite of her cancer. |
Helen Mirren | as Madame Mallory in The Hundred-Foot Journey |
 | Academy Award winner Helen Mirren is exquisite in The Hundred-Foot Journey. She plays the high-class, French culinary master restaurateur Madame Mallory. When the Kadam family arrives from India and opens up their own restaurant just one-hundred feet away from her own, Madame Mallory practically declares war. Helen Mirren is delightful to watch as she engages in a culinary battle with her new competition. |
Meryl Streep | as The Witch in Into the Woods |
 | What a fool I was to ever doubt the astonishing Meryl Streep. I guess I was a little put off by her atypically reserved performance in The Giver, so I dismissed the award show hype surrounding her role as The Witch in Into The Woods. Lesson learned: Never doubt the talents of Meryl Streep. She knocks this one out of the park, and gives the best singing performance in the entire film. Oh Meryl, is there anything you can't do? |
Angelina Jolie | as Maleficent in Maleficent |
 | Bringing Disney's greatest villain to life on the big screen in a live-action movie is no short task, but Angelina Jolie makes it look effortless. This is a role that that Angelina was born to play. She shines as Maleficent, flawlessly recreating Sleeping Beauty's most memorable scenes while also carving her own path through her character's expanded story. Jolie is devilishly delightful in her turn as the vengeful fairy queen. |
And the Winner Is...
Rosamund Pike
(Gone Girl)
Favorite Actress
After seeing Gone Girl, I was certain Rosamund Pike would win Best Actress at the Academy Awards. She is so spendidly crazy as the mysterious, vanishing Amy Dunne. She dazzles on the screen, transitioning seamlessly from being a mundane housewife into letting loose as a diabolical nutjob. She's so chilling and psychotic, and yet I couldn't help but admire her dance into madness. Rosamund Pike makes you believe every minute of her craziness. She's pulling the strings all along and is taking us along for the ride as she basks in the pride of her power over her cheating and negligent husband. She may not have won the Oscar, but she was an exceptionally worthy nominee and she propels Gone Girl into being another elite David Fincher film.
| Tell me what you think! Do you agree or disagree? Vote for which nominee you think is the Best Actress of the Year! Share your own choices in the comments below! | |
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