Oscars 2025 Best Actress Predictions: Nominees and Winners

THE Oscars 2025 The Best Actress race is positioned to be highly competitive, as former winners, nominees and first-time candidates compete for the five available nominations. After the close race in 2024, which ended in a surprise when Emma Stone defeated presumed winner Lily Gladstone, the next crop of Best Actress contenders in 2025 are equally fierce. The category for awarding the best leading performance by an actress will likely have some crossover with the 2025 Best Picture Oscar nominees, even if male-centric films dominate the potential field.

This could put the Best Actress nominees in an entirely different position than the Best Actor nominations at the 2025 Oscars. Several actresses in contention currently have leading roles in films that should be outside the Best Picture list, even if they are recognized elsewhere. among all Oscar 2025 nominations. The category dispute is at stake, with two former Oscar winners for the same film confirmed to compete in the Best Actress category now. With time remaining before nominations are announced on January 17, 2025, Screen speechThe prediction for the Best Actress nominees at the 2025 Oscars is below.

Others competing for the Oscar for best actress in 2025

While not currently on our predicted list of nominees, the Best Actress category for the 2025 Oscars still has plenty of other contenders in the mix. The aforementioned Oscar-winning co-stars are Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, protagonists of Pedro Almodóvar's film. The room next door. Sony Pictures Classics decided to campaign for Swinton and Moore for Best Actress, rather than putting one, Swinton, in Best Supporting Role. At this point, there's a better chance of Tilda Swinton getting a nomination, since she – not Moore – received the Golden Globe nomination.

Currently, the momentum has slowed just enough for Fernanda Torres (I'm still here) and Saoirse Ronan (Overcoming) to take them out of our predicted Best Actress Oscar nominees. Although both actresses deliver worthy performances, it doesn't seem like either of them has the full support needed to secure a nomination in a year as full of great performances as this one. Demi Moore (The substance) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard truths) may be ahead of them as the next candidates who could win nominations if other campaigns failed or their own gained traction.

That leaves some notable performers likely on the sidelines looking ahead to the 2025 Best Actress Oscar race. Last year's winner, Emma Stone, doesn't seem likely to receive another nomination for Types of kindnesswhile former nominees Amy Adams (Bitch of the night) and Florence Pugh (We live in time) don't have a great campaign to take them to the top, even though Adams was nominated for a Golden Globe. Kate Winslet (Lee) could also be a dark horse candidate to surprise on the morning of the nomination.

5

Cynthia Erivo – Wicked

Erivo is a former nominee for best actress

Cynthia Erivo may once again be headed for an Oscar nomination, defying all doubts about Evilare the odds this awards season. The hit musical has jumped to the center of many Oscar discussions, and Erivo's powerful showing as Elphaba is one of the many reasons why. Erivo entered the season as a long shot for nomination, although She has already been nominated for Best Actress thanks to Harriet. Although she didn't win at the 2020 ceremony, it wouldn't be a total surprise if she finally made it to the top of the category if Evil gains even more support.

Ironically, Cynthia Erivo's last Oscar-nominated performance ended up losing to a musical, as Renée Zellweger won Best Actress that year for playing The Wizard of OzJudy Garland stars in the biopic Judy. Now that she's part of the big movie musical EvilErivo aims to be the latest in a long line of Best Actress winners who have starred in major musicals – joining Renée Zellweger (Judy), Emma Stone (La La Terra), Reese Witherspoon (Walk the line), Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter), Liza Minnelli (Cabaret), Barbra Streisand (funny girl), Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins) and Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld).

At the very least, the musical genre for Evil will not prevent Erivo from being nominated. She could follow in Nicole Kidman's footsteps (Image: Instagram)Moulin Rouge!) and Renée Zellweger (Chicago) like recent stars of Broadway musical adaptations who failed to win the Best Actress Oscar. With the recognition she has already received from the Golden Globes and critics groups, Erivo has momentum on her side. And while Evil continues to dominate cultural and box office discussions, it should stay there.

4

Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez

She is a standout in the best film candidate

Karla Sofía Gascón is definitely in the running for a Best Actress nomination in 2025 after Emilia Pérez. While her co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez may be better known, Karla is ultimately the protagonist of Emilia Pérez as she plays the titular role. And it's the combination of Karla's performance and her connection with Emilia PérezThe trans storyas well as the film's Best Picture contender status, which could propel it to its first Oscar nomination.

Karla Sofía Gascón's Oscar nomination would be historic if it happens. She would become the first openly trans person to receive an Oscar nomination. Elliot Page won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2007 before coming out as a transgender man. The Academy and Hollywood have tried to become more inclusive and recognize the work of all members of the LGBTQ+ community in recent years. This appointment would do just that, as Karla Sofía Gascón is a transgender woman.

There is already some momentum for Karla Sofía Gascón to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination and possibly win. She shared the 2024 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award with her Emilia Pérez co-star Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz. It is confirmed that Gascón will compete for Best Actresswhile her other co-stars will compete for Best Supporting Actress. This paved the way for her to gain even more attention, which happened with her Golden Globe nomination. It won't be surprising if Gascón becomes the centerpiece of the Emilia PérezOscar campaign.

3

Nicole Kidman – girl

Kidman is back in the best actress race

Nicole Kidman is no stranger to the Oscars, as her storied career has earned her several nominations and a win in the past. With Little babyKidman plays a very different kind of role – a CEO who becomes involved in an affair with a younger intern – as the protagonist of an erotic thriller. This genre doesn't typically immediately draw Oscar contenders, but someone with Kidman's pedigree could change that. The film may not fully hit theaters until Christmas, but the former Oscar winner is already gaining steam.

If Kidman is nominated for Best Actress at the 2025 Oscars, it would mark her fifth nomination in the category. It will also be the sixth Oscar nomination of his career overall. She has only won once before with The hoursbut that was at the 2003 ceremony. She participated in the last award conversation in 2022 with Being the Ricardosbut she lost to Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye). Now that it's been more than 20 years since Kidman won an Oscar, Little babyThe rise of As awards season continues could bring her back once again.

Kidman's case for a Best Actress Oscar nomination in 2025 is also growing. She has already received a Golden Globe nomination and the Gotham Awards nominated her in the Best Leading Performance category, won by Colman Domingo. Kidman was even recognized by the National Board of Review and the Venice Film Festival as the winner of Best Actress. These two wins are impressive and suggest there is a realistic chance of her becoming a two-time Best Actress winner, which has only happened 15 times before.

2

Mikey Madison – Anora

A breakout role could lead to an Oscar

Mikey Madison is another strong contender for Best Actress at the 2025 Oscars. She doesn't have the pedigree of previous awards like, say, Saoirse Ronan, but Madison is the star of what could be the frontrunner for Best Picture in anora. The young actress has continued to rise in Hollywood in recent years, whether working with Quentin Tarantino or joining the Scream franchise. It was only after these films that she got the lead role in Sean Baker's film. anora, which explores new love and marriage as a stripper.

The case of Mikey Madison's Oscar nomination in 2025 comes to light anoraposition for the overall awards season. It's our predicted Best Picture winner at the moment, while Sean Baker is also a strong contender for the Best Director category at the 2025 Oscars. Its potential to receive nominations elsewhere works in Madison's favor, as her prominent role in the film could gain even more support as the season continues.

While the nomination seems all but guaranteed for Mikey Madison at this point, whether she can win is more uncertain. Mikey Madison would be one of the youngest Best Actress winners in Oscar history if she finally wins. However, this story suggests that voters might wait to give him the win in favor of selecting a more experienced professional with an Oscar pedigree. The betting odds are in Mikey Madison's favor to win Best Actress, even if that's not what we're predicting right now following her Golden Globe, Gotham Awards, and Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations.

1

Angelina Jolie – Maria

Jolie could win her second Oscar

Angelina Jolie is the current favorite for the Oscar for Best Actress in 2025 – at least in my opinion. She is practically guaranteed to receive a nomination for her performance in MariaPablo Larraín's biopic about Maria Callas. The Academy usually rewards performances in biopicseven though it has rarely resulted in a Best Actress win in the last decade. It shouldn't matter so much to Maria thanks to Angelina Jolie's involvement and the construction of the career narrative around what critics consider an excellent, transformative performance.

This would be Angelina Jolie's third Oscar nomination in her career, but the first in more than 15 years. She was last nominated in 2009 for Beast Boywhich marked her first Best Actress nomination. She has already been nominated and won Best Supporting Actress in 2000 for Girl, interrupted​​​​​​. The Academy hasn't had many opportunities to give Jolie an Oscar nomination over the past two decades, but Maria It seems to be a film worth recognition. She was nominated for a Golden Globe to help bolster her resume before Maria it even comes to Netflix.

It is also important to note that Oscar voters have a soft spot for the lead actress in a Pablo Larraín film recently. Kristen Stewart was nominated for Spencer in 2022, while Natalie Portman was nominated for Jackie in 2017. Neither Stewart nor Portman managed to win the Best Actress category, so Jolie could break that trend if she finishes first in the voting. How is your performance Mariathe best chance of a Oscars 2025 nomination, it would take some unexpected developments for it to lose the category completely.