The Academy honours have recognised women in cinema since 1929 by giving them honours and nominations for Best Actress. While being nominated is a professional accomplishment, taking home the top honours denotes becoming a Hollywood icon. Even if women and minorities have a bright future, the film business is still dominated by men, with a low representation of female performers and creators. Prominent ladies such as Edith Head, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep have continuously showcased their abilities. A greater transformation is still to come, even if the Academy’s acknowledgement of female artists has changed for the better. Two of the most decorated actresses with Oscars are Cate Blanchett and Ingrid Bergman.

Olivia de Havilland

The Broadway play The Heiress in 1949 featured Olivia de Havilland, who was best known for her parts in the films Gone with the Wind and Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna. She portrayed Catherine Sloper, a spinster whose marriage to a gold-digger was betrayed by her father, turning her into an iron maiden. One may interpret De Havilland’s last scene—which denounced Hollywood’s harshness and falseness—as a feminist rallying cry. She became well-known during the Hollywood Golden Age and took home two Academy Awards, for the films To Each His Own (1947) and The Heiress (1950).

Ingrid Bergman

Swedish actor Ingrid Bergman is well-known for her parts in suspenseful psychological dramas such as Murder on the Orient Express and Gaslight. Her first Academy Award was for Gaslight in 1945. She went on to win two more in 1957 and 1975, for Anastasia and Murder on the Orient Express. The way Bergman portrayed Paula Alquist in Gaslight is both creepy and engrossing. She is regarded as one of the most important performers in the history of American and European film, having had a career lasting more than 50 years.

Cate Blanchett

Australian actor Cate Blanchett has received two Academy Awards from seven nominations: her first for The Aviator in 2005 and her second for Blue Jasmine in 2014. Notes on a Scandal, I’m Not There, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Carol have all earned Oscar nominations. Blanchett’s most recent performance is in Tár, which highlights her remarkable abilities. In Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, Blanchett portrays Jasmine, a lady who can’t let go of the pretences of high society.

Jane Fonda

Actress and humanitarian Jane Fonda is well-known for her work in TV series and films. She received seven Oscar nods for her parts in Klute (1971). In the Best Actress category, she has also won two Oscars, for Klute and Coming Home. Fashion model and activist Fonda supported environmental causes, the Vietnam War, and Black Lives Matter. Fonda plays the tough-yet-vulnerable high-class call girl and aspiring actress Bree Daniels in the film Klute. The movie highlights Fonda’s abilities and has brought her five more nominations and victories.

Bette Davis

Veteran actress Bette Davis is well recognised for her performance in the 1938 movie Jezebel as Julie Marsden. With two Academy Awards under her belt, Davis has garnered ten nominations overall. Her character Julie in the movie is regarded as one of the first women heroes in Hollywood history. Although Davis’s character is a free spirit who defies societal norms, her impetuous defiance during the ball scene demonstrates her ability to switch between an arrogant and sympathetic demeanour. She is a prominent personality in Hollywood because of her depiction as Julie in the movie, which demonstrates her range from haughty to sympathetic.

Frances McDormand

Actress Frances McDormand is well-known for her parts in the films Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In addition to being nominated for six Academy Awards, she has acted in several well-known films, such as Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Lone Star, Hail, Caesar!, and Nomadland. For the films Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Nomadland, McDormand has received three of her seven Oscar nominations. She most recently acted in the 2023 drama Women Talking, which is up for Best Picture at the Oscars. She has demonstrated her ability and commitment to her trade by winning two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.

Elizabeth Taylor

A Hollywood celebrity since the 1940s, Elizabeth Taylor rose to prominence in the 1950s and, by the 1960s, was earning the highest salary of any film performer. For her performances in Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In 1967, she was awarded two Oscars. Taylor supported humanitarian initiatives as well, especially those related to HIV/AIDS. She received the AMPAS Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993. Taylor’s Oscar-winning performance in Butterfield 8 helped create the current standard for Oscar-winning performances while also challenging the stereotype of the ingénue. Taylor started her career as a child star and became a well-known figure in the movie business.

Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep, who has three wins and 21 Oscars overall, is well-known for her parts in films such as The Iron Lady and Sophie’s Choice. Her performance as Polish Holocaust survivor Sophie Zawistowski is eerie and radiant. For her portrayal of a Polish immigrant in the 1983 film Sophie’s Choice, Streep was honoured with three Oscars. Almost three decades later, she won her most recent role as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. It is appropriate to acknowledge Streep’s roles in films such as The Deer Hunter, Out of Africa, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!, and Julie & Julia.

Maggie Smith

In the acting industry, Dame Maggie Smith has become well-known for her portrayal of Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series. Her first Academy Award was given for California Suite in 1979, and her second came in 1970 for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Smith has starred in more than 60 plays and films and has received four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards. In 1990, Queen Elizabeth II named her a Dame in recognition of her services to the arts.

Katharine Hepburn

The only other female performer to win four acting Oscars is Katharine Hepburn, who took home her first prize for Morning Glory in 1934. For Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in the Winter, and On Golden Pond, she has earned three additional awards. Hepburn garnered an Oscar nomination for The Philadelphia Story after securing the film rights, despite early career disappointments with films like Bringing Up Baby. Since then, she has taken home three more Oscars, giving her the record for most victories by an actor.

Thelma Schoonmaker

Several departments are involved in the film business, which is dominated by men. These departments include production assistants, editing, lighting, cinematography, and costume design. Thelma Schoonmaker is one example of a woman who has succeeded in the traditionally male-dominated field. With Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed, Schoonmaker received the most nominations ever for Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards, winning three of the eight total. Few female editors have received nominations or awards in the “Best Film Editing” category.

Conclusion

The Academy Awards honour and nominate women in film for Best Actress, a category that has existed since 1929. Well-known women such as Edith Head, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep have demonstrated their skills over and again. Among the most accomplished females to win Oscars are Ingrid Bergman and Cate Blanchett. Olivia de Havilland, Ingrid Bergman, Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Frances McDormand, Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Dame Maggie Smith, Katharine Hepburn, and Thorna Schoonmaker are a few other well-known actresses.