Here's Why the Best Actress Category at Oscars 2021 Is So Unpredictable
The 2021 Oscars are this weekend and while there are frontrunners in plenty of categories, there’s one category in particular that is still very unpredictable.
The Best Actress award could go to any of the five nominees and there is no clear winner right now. Leading up to the Academy Awards, there are four big awards shows that serve as pre-cursors to help predict who will win the Oscar. These four awards are the Golden Globe, the Critics Choice Award, the SAG Award, and the BAFTA.
All four of those awards went to different women this year!
The five nominees are Nomadland‘s Frances McDormand, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom‘s Viola Davis, Promising Young Woman‘s Carey Mulligan, The United States vs. Billie Holliday‘s Andra Day, and Pieces of a Woman‘s Vanessa Kirby.
We’re breaking down each actress’ chance at winning the award.
Click inside to learn more about the Best Actress category and each actress’ odds of winning…
Keep scrolling to learn more about each actress’ odds of winning…
Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand is nominated for her work in the movie Nomadland, which is the favorite to win both Best Picture and Best Director for Chloe Zhao. Frances recently won the BAFTA for her work, though Viola, Carey, and Andra were all snubbed by that show. She also has won two Oscars before, so the Academy might decide to give the award to someone who hasn’t won yet. Gold Derby ranks her odds at 4/1.
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is nominated for her work in the movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which failed to earn a Best Picture nom. Everyone, including her, was surprised when she won the SAG Award a few weeks ago, which is earning her some momentum in the category. Her late co-star Chadwick Boseman is the favorite to win for Best Actor, so will the Academy decide to give the two top acting prizes to stars from the same movie? We’ll have to wait and see! Gold Derby lists her odds at 19/5.
Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan is nominated for her work in the movie Promising Young Woman, marking her second Oscar nomination. She won the Critics Choice Award for her performance and she also picked up the Spirit Award this week. Carey is earning a lot of praise for going against-type for her work in the movie, something that the Academy often loves. Gold Derby lists her odds at 69/20.
Andra Day
Andra Day made her acting debut in The United States vs. Billie Holliday and earned a nomination for her work. She also won the Golden Globe, cementing herself as a possible winner at the Oscars. Something working against her is that her movie was critically panned, aside from her performance, and the movie doesn’t have any other nominations. Gold Derby lists her odds at 4/1.
Vanessa Kirby
Vanessa Kirby has earned her first Oscar nomination for her work in the movie Pieces of a Woman, which earned her Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival last year. She hasn’t picked up any other awards for the film and just like Andra, her movie doesn’t have any other nominations and wasn’t well-received. Gold Derby lists her odds at 9/2.
WHO DO YOU THINK will win the award?
Check out our predictions for the winners in every category!
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