One Of These 20 Women Will Probably Win Best Actress At The 2015 Oscars

Welcome to For Your Consideration, HuffPost Entertainment’s breakdown of all things Oscar. Between now and Feb. 22, 2015, entertainment managing editor Christopher Rosen and entertainment editor Matthew Jacobs will pore over awards season and discuss which films will make the most noise at the 87th annual Academy Awards.

This year’s men are packed into the Best Actor race like sardines, but don’t discount the women: There are a surfeit of commendable female performances in play, from a Reese Witherspoon comeback to potential first nods for Shailene Woodley and Kristen Stewart to super-duper long shots like Angelina Jolie and Kristen Wiig. Here are 20 contenders — including two Jessica Chastain performances — vying for a Best Actress nod between now and Jan. 15, when Oscar nominations are announced.

Angelina Jolie, “Maleficent”

Okay, so the Oscars almost definitely won’t look Jolie’s way. But if Glenn Close can score a Golden Globe nod for her divinely campy turn as Cruella de Vil, don’t discount Angelina Jolie for borrowing from that playbook too. Also recall that even heinous reviews couldn’t preclude Jolie’s Globe nomination for “The Tourist” and here we find her working with cheekbones so formidable they might scare up some votes of their own. Not to mention she was damn good, in her own divinely campy way, in the box-office behemoth that was “Maleficent.” — Matthew Jacobs

This next spot could easily belong to Helen Mirren’s haughty French chef in “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” but we’ll give a slight edge to Keira Knightley for playing a burgeoning singer-songwriter in “Begin Again.” Like Jolie, the Globes might be her best bet, but it doesn’t really matter: Knightley’s supporting turn in “The Imitation Game” nearly guarantees she’ll score an Oscar nod next year. — MJ
Kristen Stewart, “Camp X-Ray”

When “Camp X-Ray” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Variety likened Kristen Stewart’s performance to Jodie Foster’s Oscar-winning turn in “The Silence of the Lambs.” The “Twilight” actress is having something of a moment thanks to several dramatic roles on the docket this year, but it’s her portrayal of a soldier stationed at Guantanamo Bay that gives her Best Actress clout. She’s pulling double duty, though, as Sony Pictures Classics has already stated it’ll stage a Best Supporting Actress push for Stewart’s “Still Alice” performance. — MJ

Kristen Wiig, “The Skeleton Twins”

Kristen Wiig has drifted toward the dramatic realm as of late, to decidedly mixed results. Following the middling reviews that befell “Friends with Kids,” “Girl Most Likely,” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “Hateship, Loveship,” Wiig drew her strongest praise for Sundance breakout “The Skeleton Twins.” She plays Bill Hader’s estranged sister who takes him in after a botched suicide attempt. The movie is “Little Miss Sunshine” meets “Garden State,” which sounds awards-friendly enough, except that most of its splashier moments belong to Hader (who would be part of the Best Actor conversation were that category not so overcrowded). — MJ

Scarlett Johansson, “Under the Skin”

Released all the way back in April (after making the festival rounds in 2013), “Under the Skin” is but a distant memory in the awards race. But Johansson’s performance was heavily praised last spring, and it feels like she’s due to break into the awards race in a major way during one of these years. It probably won’t happen in 2014, but like many of her peers on this list, a Spirit Award nod likely awaits. — Christopher Rosen

Rosario Dawson, “Top Five”

If “Top Five” is Chris Rock’s “Annie Hall,” that makes Rosario Dawson its Annie Hall. That role won Diane Keaton an Oscar at the 1978 ceremony, so let’s put Dawson on our short list if only out of respect for the heritage. But while Dawson is quite affecting in “Top Five” (she has to carry a lot of the film’s emotional weight), it’s probably a performance better suited for recognition in the musical/comedy category at the Golden Globes. — CR

Jennifer Aniston, “Cake”

“Cake” debuted to mixed reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, and didn’t draw a whole lot of interest from distributors. No matter: producers Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon created their own “prestige label” to push “Cake” out to theaters this year. That means Aniston’s lead performance as a woman suffering with chronic pain and hallucinations is eligible for Best Actress. In theory, Aniston has a shot. But with so many other contenders in the way, consider it decidedly long. — CR

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Beyond the Lights”

Jessica Chastain, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”

 The premise of “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” — it’s a breakup story split into three movies: one from the male perspective, one from the female and one that combines the two — made more of a splash on paper than it did in practice. But the movie earned a 10-minute standing ovation after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, sparking chatter of a strong Weinstein Company awards push for lead stars Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. The latter doesn’t stand a chance amid this year’s bloated Best Actor race, but Chastain won the movie’s strongest praise when the dual-perspective cut opened to tepid reception in September. — MJ

Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”

 As a depressed factory worker who loses her job and then spends the next 48 hours trying to convince her former co-workers to vote for her to retain the work at the expense of their bonuses, Marion Cotillard flashes a whole bunch of emotions in Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “Two Days, One Night.” It’s a performance that’s raw and stripped down, and Cotillard is really quite excellent throughout. But will enough Oscar voters sit through the slow-moving foreign-language film long enough to make her a viable contender? — CR

Anne Hathaway, “Interstellar”

 Of all the surprises in “Interstellar,” one of the biggest might be the size of Anne Hathaway’s role. She’s the female lead and, outside of Matthew McConaughey, the famous face with the largest amount of screen time. (Not that anyone would know that based on the film’s marketing campaign, which has kept Hathaway relatively hidden.) She plays an astronaut named Amelia Brand (a possible Amelia Earhart reference?) in “Interstellar,” and acquits herself well amid all the black holes and dad tears. The problems are that Hathaway’s character is relatively lacking in real depth, and her one big scene has proved polarizing among critics. (We were fans, but your mileage will definitely vary.) — CR

Emily Blunt, “Into the Woods”

Disney didn’t have much success bandying “Saving Mr. Banks” into last year’s Oscar race (including lead actress Emma Thompson), but this time around the studio has Stephen Sondheim and “Chicago” director Rob Marshall to provide added momentum. Whether that’s enough to land Emily Blunt her first nomination will soon be seen, as “Into the Woods” just revved up its press cycle with a buzzy set ofEntertainment Weekly covers, a new trailer offering full glimpses of the cast singing and character posters that move. — MJ

Hilary Swank, “The Homesman”

Hilary Swank has collected Best Actress accolades twice (“Boys Don’t Cry,” “Million Dollar Baby”), and in theory “The Homesman” feels like an assured shot at a third trophy. The 1850s-set Western, directed by and co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, features an all-star supporting cast and competed for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Swank’s performance has been compared to that of Katharine Hepburn in “The African Queen,” but despite reports that Saban Films and Roadside Attractions have an aggressive campaign planned for “The Homesman,” the movie seems to have generated little buzz within the overall race thus far. — MJ

Shailene Woodley, “The Fault in Our Stars”

 Before anyone scoffs at the notion of Woodley earning Oscar recognition for “The Fault in Our Stars,” the teen romance of this generation, consider that Kate Winslet grabbed a nod for “Titanic,” the teen romance of the generation prior. Woodley is wonder as Hazel Grace Lancaster, striking a tricky balance between moony romantic and hopeless nihilist. Woodley carries this movie on her sturdy shoulders, and her scenes with Laura Dern (who plays Hazel’s weary mother) are some of the most affecting of the year. At the very least, expect Woodley to get a boatload of MTV Movie Award nods in 2015. — CR

Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”

 A24 is planning to campaign Jessica Chastain as a lead for J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year.” Judging from the first trailer, that’s a wise move: Chastain’s playing a flashy variation on the type of role that scored Amy Adams an Oscar nod for “American Hustle,” but with more gravitas and less accent trouble. With her “Interstellar” performance sitting comfortably in the Best Supporting Actress race (and “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” feeling like a relative non-starter from an awards standpoint), Chastain should battle for the final spot in Best Actress. (This assuming her publicity “tug of war” between “A Most Violent Year” and “Interstellar” doesn’t prevent the smaller film from finding an audience.) If she gets in, watch out: her near ubiquity in 2014 (four movies total), two prior Oscar nominations (for “The Help” and “Zero Dark Thirty”) and a reputation for being an actor’s actor could spring her to the front of a still-evolving race. — CR

Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”

Like Julianne Moore, Amy Adams is a fixture of the “She’s Been Robbed!” gong that’s banged for many great stars who’ve never won Oscars. Adams has acquired five nominations in less than a decade and seems poised to earn her sixth for portraying Margaret Keane, whose husband (played by Christoph Waltz) took credit for her beloved paintings of wide-eyed children. Only two actors have ever been nominated for Tim Burton movies (Martin Landau in “Ed Wood” and Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd”), but The Weinstein Company seems to have faith in “Big Eyes,” slotting it for a Christmas Day opening. — MJ

Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”

“Formidable” is how Eddie Redmayne described Felicity Jones, and he’s right. She’s so good in “The Theory of Everything” that it’s Redmayne, he of one of the year’s true transformative performances as Dr. Stephen Hawking, who must keep up. Jones has been on the cusp of an Oscar nomination for a little while (she was briefly discussed as a contender last year for “The Invisible Woman”), but it’s “The Theory of Everything” that feels like her coronation. In a year of great performances, hers is one of the best. — CR

Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”

No movie this fall has been more closely examined than “Gone Girl,” and Rosamund Pike is, by most accounts, the movie’s standout performer. Even though she’s been acting for more than a decade (she was a Bond girl!), Pike may be the closest this category comes to spotlighting a relative newcomer. That narrative worked for another heavily scrutinized David Fincher movie in 2011 when Rooney Mara earned “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s” steadiest praise as well as its sole top-tier Oscar nod. — MJ

Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

As Cheryl Strayed in “Wild,” Reese Witherspoon is dynamic, charismatic, heartbreaking and so very human. It’s the kind of performance that wins Oscars even without a compelling off-screen narrative. But Witherspoon has one of those as well: Like Matthew McConaughey last year, Witherspoon is a Hollywood icon turned reclamation project, and that kind of comeback story is catnip to Oscar voters. (The only problem here is that Witherspoon already won an Oscar in 2005; McConaughey had no trophies on his mantle.) It helps, too, that “Wild” could become a movie many voters rally behind, as it’s one of the few Oscar contenders with a woman at the center. Start buying stock in the Reesurgence right now. — CR

Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”

Before “Still Alice” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Oscar chatter around Julianne Moore was focused on “Maps to the Stars.” But with that polarizing film putting Moore in a tweener position (is she a lead or supporting player?), “Still Alice” has taken up the discussion. Glowing reviews of her performance made Moore an overnight frontrunner, and — as of now — she looks positioned to win her first Oscar for her portrayal of a linguistics professor struggling with the early stages of Alzheimer’s. (If it’s anything like Julie Christie’s beautiful work in “Away From Her,” we’re in.) Moore has a lot going for her here: She’s left the Oscars empty-handed four times, “Still Alice” is based on a novel that spent more than 40 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, and playing characters with illnesses has benefited a few actresses in the past, including Jessica Lange and Holly Hunter. — MJ