Top 10 Actresses – The 00’s

Article by Terry Plucknett

Posted - 2/8/10

10.  Leslie Mann – Throughout this decade, Leslie Mann has become one of the funniest women in Hollywood.  Part of this is getting some incredibly funny roles in all the movies written and directed by her husband, Judd Apatow.  However, she took these roles and made them some of the best parts of these movies as well as charming her way to being a household name.

Best Performance – Funny People

9.  Keira Knightley – No one quite shot up into the ranks of movie star this decade quite like Keira Knightley did.  Starting out in the very underrated film Bend It Like Beckham, Keira became a household name after starring in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  However, it wasn’t until films like Pride & Prejudice and Atonement that everyone realized she was much more than a pretty face.  She has shown incredible range and popularity from start to finish this decade, and is only 24 years old.  She is one where we are about to head into the prime of her career.  I can’t wait to see what happens this next decade.

Best Performance – Pride & Prejudice

8.  Marion Cotillard – This French actress navigated through the first part of the decade appearing in French films with an occasional supporting role in films like Big Fish.  However, it was her shocking Oscar win in 2007 for La Vie en Rose that gave her recognition for the great talent she was and still is.  Since that win, she has continued to gain strength as the standout performance out of A-list ensembles in Public Enemies and Nine.  My only regret is that we didn’t know about her sooner.

Best Performance – La Vie en Rose

7.  Uma Thurman – Uma made this list for one thing and one thing only: The Bride.  It must be nice to be the muse of one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our generation.  Uma has definitely been the beneficiary of this collaboration.  It started by being put on the map in Pulp Fiction, and reached its apex with the Kill Bill saga.  These might have been the most underrated films and performances of the decade.  Her turn as a betrayed, sword-wielding assassin looking for revenge required immense physical and emotional strength and flexibility.  Add to this strong roles in films like Tape and The Producers and you have an very strong decade put together.

Best Performance – Kill Bill, Vol. 2

6.  Penelope Cruz – At the start of the decade, she was simply one of the hottest people in Hollywood.  Ten years later, one Oscar, and a couple other nominated performances, and she is now one of the most respected actresses in the world (and still one of the hottest people on the planet, let alone Hollywood).  With that said, I have to be honest.  I haven’t seen many of the films that are thought to be her best work.  I haven’t seen any of her very well regarded collaborations with Pedro Almodovar such as Volver which gave her the first Oscar nomination of her career.  I also have not seen Vicky Christina Barcelona, which she won her Oscar for.  However, I have seen enough.  Her beauty is almost so mesmerizing on screen, it can be easy to miss how talented she actually is.  However, especially in the second half of the decade, her talent began to outshine her stunning looks.  She was brilliant in the very underrated Elegy, and her along with Marion Cotillard were the best parts of Nine, which will most likely give her another nomination.  It is performances like these that give me added incentive to watch her work.

Best Performance – Elegy

5.  Angelina Jolie – Angelina falls under the same category as Penelope Cruz.  Her looks can outshine how talented she really is.  She started out the decade showing her action star potential in the Tomb Raider series.  However, as the decade ended, she took the attention off her looks and personal life as she reminded everyone just how good she is through roles in The Good Shepherd, A Mighty Heart, and Changeling, which earned her first Oscar nomination since winning in 1999.  Sure, it is hard to see her talent sometimes behind the tabloids, but I hope she continues her recent trend of bringing her talent to the forefront.

Best Performance – A Mighty Heart

4.  Charlize Theron – She started the decade as the beautiful supporting lady, but quickly became one of the best leading ladies out there.  Her performance in Monster not only was one of the greatest transformations of the decade, but one of the best performances of the decade.  Add to that strong performances in North Country, In the Valley of Elah, and Battle in Seattle as well as blockbusters such as The Italian Job and Hancock, you have a quality actress that can do it all.

Best Performance – Monster

3.  Meryl Streep – She seems to break every Hollywood rule.  The only reason that can be given for how she is still this relevant and in demand in this industry that demands youth is she is quite possibly the greatest actress to ever be put in front of a camera.  This decade continued to prove that point.  Already the overall leader in acting Oscar nominations, she was nominated three more times this decade for Adaptation., The Devil Wears Prada, and Doubt as well as being the favorite to win this year for her role in Julie & Julia.  There is nothing else to say.  She is Meryl Streep.

Best Performance – Doubt

2.  Kate Winslet – She is trying her hardest to catch Meryl in nominations, and she deserves it.  She is amazing and captivating in everything she is in.  She finally won her Oscar last year for The Reader and was nominated for Little Children, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Iris.  Add to this films and performances like Finding Neverland and Revolutionary Road and you have a great actress turning into an unstoppable force.  I cannot wait to see her next masterpiece.

Best Performance – The Reader

1.  Cate Blanchett – I love watching her act.  She is mesmerizing and captivating in every role.  She won an Oscar this decade for her eerily accurate portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator which is one of the best portrayals of a real person I have seen.  She was nominated three other times for reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, starring with a strong performance in the dreadful Notes on a Scandal, and for playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not There . . . which may have been the strangest casting decision of the decade on paper, but it did not take long to see what an ingenious decision it was.  Add to this already remarkable résumé roles in Bandits, The Shipping News, The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou, Babel, The Good German, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it is easy to see why she ended up top on this list.  Sure, she has been in some poor films, but she always shines above the everything else in whatever she does.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention she also was in all three parts of the biggest trilogy of the decade, The Lord of the Rings, as if you needed more proof.  She has become one of the few actresses where I will see a movie she is in just to see her latest performance.  I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Best Performance – The Aviator