By John H. Foote
Who did win, who should have, in my humble opinion.
Contrary to popular belief the Academy does not always get it right, and here we can see why. Granted I have the benefit of hindsight, and hindsight is almost always 20-20. Time is the greatest enemy of a film, of all art, chipping away mercifully at the film, the performance, whatever piece of art it might be, rendering it weaker than we thought it ever was.
Though it is often easy to disparage the Academy years later, in fairness they often get it right, no easy feat with everyone having different opinions.
Here I cover Best Actress, looking at who did win, followed by who should have. No grand explanations, just the facts jack.
2000
- Winner – Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich
- Should Have Won – Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream
2001
- Winner – Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball
- Should Have Won – Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball
2002
- Nicole Kidman in The Hours
- Should Have Won – Julianne Moore in Far from Heaven
2003
- Winner – Charlize Theron in Monster
- Should Have Won – Charlize Theron in Monster
2004
- Winner – Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby
- Should Have Won – Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005
- Winner – Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line
- Should Have Won – Sarah Polley in The Secret Life of Words
2006
- Winner – Helen Mirren in The Queen
- Should Have Won – Helen Mirren in The Queen
2007
- Winner – Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
- Should Have Won – Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
2008
- Winner – Kate Winslet in The Reader
- Should Have Won – Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road
2009
- Winner – Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
- Should Have Won – Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia
2010
- Winner – Natalie Portman in Black Swan
- Should Have Won – Hailee Stenfield in True Grit
2011
- Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
- Should Have Won – Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin
2012
- Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook
- Should Have Won – Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
2013
- Winner – Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
- Should Have Won – Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
2014
- Winner – Julianne Moore in Still Alice
- Should Have Won – Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
2015
- Winner – Brie Larson in Room
- Should Have Won – Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn
2016
- Winner – Emma Stone in La La Land
- Should Have Won – Natalie Portman in Jackie
2017
- Winner – Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Should Have Won – Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
2018
- Winner – Olivia Colman in The Favourite
- Should Have Won – Brooklyn Prince in The Florida Project
2019
- Winner – Renee Zellweger in Judy
- Should Have Won – Renee Zellweger in Judy

John H. Foote is a well-recognized Canadian film critic/historian who has been an active critic for 30 years. His deep love for the movies began at a very young age. He began his career as co-host of the popular TV show Reel to Real where he remained for nine years. While on TV he began dabbling in education, eventually ascending to Director of the Toronto Film School, where he also taught film history. After leaving the college to care for his wife, he returned to teaching at Humber College where he taught both Film History and Method Acting Theory. John has written two books: “Clint Eastwood – Evolution of a Filmmaker” and the upcoming “Spielberg – American Film Visionary”. He is currently working on two books, one about the films of the seventies and another on the films of Martin Scorsese. Through his career he has worked in TV, radio, print and the web. John has interviewed everyone in the industry (more than 300 interviews) except Jack Nicholson, he says sadly. Highlights include Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep Robert Duvall, Jane Fonda, Francis Ford Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow.