Top 5 Academy Awards Winners for Best Actress

With the Academy Awards coming soon, and with so many great actresses to choose from this year let's take a look back at some of the greats from movies gone by. There have been so many great movies and some unforgettable performances by the best of the best in female actresses, that it is hard to pick any one of them as being better than the other. With that in mind these are my picks for the best of the best.

First and foremost is Katherine Hepburn, this incredible actress had a career that spanned 73 years. She has earned more Best Actress Academy Awards than anyone else, winning four of them from twelve nominations. Her first one for Morning Glory (1933) shows her as a fledgling actress trying to get a start on Broadway and her last for On Golden Pond (1981). Perhaps her most memorable performance was in On Golden Pond in which she played Ethel Thayer, opposite Henry Fonda. Giving a stunning performance as part of an elderly couple who look back on their lives with fond memories and some misgivings, Katherine's performance left everyone with a wonderful warm feeling.

Next on the list would have to be Susan Sarandon, winning her Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Sister Helen Prejean in the movie Dead Man Walking. Portraying a real life nun who counseled convicted killer Mathew Poncelet, played by Sean Penn , Ms. Sarandon show us an amazing woman who would go to all costs to save the life of this convicted killer. Based on a true story she left us in no doubt as to the power and strength of the real Sister Helen.

One of Hollywood's greatest leading ladies comes in third for her performance in who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Winning her second Academy Award for Best Actress as Martha in this film, known for its censorship controversy, Ms Taylor delivered perfectly, even gaining thirty pounds just for her role. Her ability to portray such a range of human emotions in this movie makes it one of her very best. The entire cast was nominated for Academy Awards and the movie was nominated in every category available at the time.

Who could forget Julie Andrews, winner of two Academy Awards for Best Actress? As the irresistible Mary Poppins in 1964 she taught us to look at the fun side of life. Following this up in 1965 as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, she wins over not only the children in the movie, but generations of viewers. Always a delight to watch, these movies have transcended time and still continue to charm all ages with her talented acting and singing abilities.

Jodie Foster rounds out my picks for top winners in the Best Female Actress awards. She has won two of them, both for incredible performances in movies covering very difficult subject matter. In The accused she portrays a young working class woman who is raped by a gang of drunks, and gives a heart wrenching performance as the movies shows us what she goes through before the men are convicted. The other award was for her role in Silence of the Lambs in which she portrays a raw FBI agent who is tasked with dealing with a very disturbed criminal played by Anthony Hopkins.

The number of leading ladies is tremendous and they are all stars whether they have won Oscars or not this is just a sample of some of the best of them. Please watch the movies and decide for yourself if they deserve to be listed as the best of the best.

Sources: Wikipedia.com