2008 Oscar Contenders: Best Supporting Actress (2009 ceremony)

These are my Top 20 contenders for the 2008 Academy Awards.

The ceremony will be held on 22nd February, 2009.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

These are my very early predictions for the twenty actresses who may be in line for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. Many have been to the ceremony before, so perhaps they will gain favour with voters. Others are not very well known, and are caught up in awards fever due to the “buzz” surrounding their movie. Will we see a mix of newcomers with old favourites welcomed back into the fold?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WINNER:

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Volver".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOMINEES:

Amy Adams (Doubt) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Junebug".

Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Misery" and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Primary Colors" and "About Schmidt".

Vera Farmiga (Nothing But The Truth) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OTHER CANDIDATES:

Amy Adams (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day) - see notes above.

Patricia Clarkson (Elegy) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Pieces of April".

Viola Davis (Doubt) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Romola Garai (The Other Man) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Patty McCormack (Frost / Nixon) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "The Bad Seed".

Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Fargo" and was also previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Mississippi Burning", "Almost Famous", and "North Country".

Sienna Miller (The Edge of Love) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Amy Ryan (Changeling) - she was previously nominated as Best Supporting Actress for "Gone Baby Gone".

Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Sophie's Choice" and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Kramer vs. Kramer", and was also previously nominated as Best Actress for "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Silkwood", "Out of Africa", "Ironweed", "A Cry In The Dark", "Postcards From The Edge", "The Bridges of Madison County", "One True Thing", "Music of the Heart", and "The Devil Wears Prada". She also received Best Supporting Actress nominations for "The Deer Hunter" and "Adaptation".

Charlize Theron (The Road) - she won the Best Actress Oscar for "Monster" and was also nominated for "North Country".

Misty Upham (Frozen River) - she has not previously been nominated for an Oscar.

Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom) - she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "The Constant Gardener".

Debra Winger (Rachel Got Married) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "An Officer and a Gentleman", "Terms of Endearment", and "Shadowlands".

Kate Winslet (The Reader) - she was previously nominated as Best Actress for "Titanic", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Little Children", as well as Best Supporting Actress nominations for "Sense and Sensibility" and "Iris".

Renee Zellweger (Appaloosa) - she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Cold Mountain" and was nominated for Best Actress in "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "Chicago".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------