Top 10 Actresses that Didn't Win the Oscar But Should Have

Michelle Pfeiffer - The Fabulous Baker Boys

Should have won for this role, hands down!

She did it all!

Bette Davis - All About Eve

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 - October 6, 1989) was an American actress who worked in film, television, and theater. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Davis was known for her willingness to portray unsympathetic, sardonic characters and for her versatility... read more

Most perfect casting ever, without a doubt.

Michelle Pfeiffer - Love Field

Amazing performance.

Toni Collette - The Sixth Sense

The scene with Haley Joel Osment in the car alone is enough for an Oscar win!

Amazing actress in everything she does!

Sigourney Weaver - Gorillas in the Mist

Next to Aliens, this was Sigourney Weaver's best movie.

She should have won an Oscar for this movie!

Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple

Judy Garland - A Star Is Born

Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, was an American singer, actress, and vaudevillian. She rose to international fame with her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and had a career spanning over four decades.... read more

Emma Thompson - Sense and Sensibility

She did win an Oscar for her screenplay, if that's a consolation.

Glenn Close - Fatal Attraction

The best performance I've ever seen. Brutally honest and nuanced. Perfect!

Geena Davis - Thelma & Louise

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Julie Christie - Doctor Zhivago

This was a case of a deserved win for another feature film but Doctor Zhivago was on another level, not to disrespect Darling the movie which won Christie her Oscar in the same year.

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Mandy Moore - Tangled

Renée Zellweger - Bridget Jones's Diary

Kathleen Turner - Peggy Sue Got Married

Julianne Moore - Far From Heaven

Julianne Moore is an American actress who has been prolific in films since the early 1990s. She is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in both independent and Hollywood films. Moore has received many accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in... read more

Sigourney Weaver - Aliens

Yes. Sigi was amazing in Gorillas in the Mist, but Aliens is a special one! In 1986, she was really the best.

Sigourney Weaver at her best!

Brenda Blethyn - Secrets & Lies

Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves

Sharon Stone - Casino

Jodie Foster - Nell

Perfect performance. Jessica Lange's performance was good, but the movie was horrible. The Oscars are never ready to give Jodie or Meryl their third Oscar. Jodie was robbed.

Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream

While Julia Roberts was clearly excellent and memorable in Erin Brockovich, I feel the performance is a bit overrated, especially when compared to Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. Roberts is convincing as the sharp-tongued environmental activist, but as the plucky, can-do yet vulnerable woman, it's both a role we've seen before and one we've seen Roberts play before.
On the contrary, Burstyn gave a mesmerizing performance as Sara Goldfarb, an aging woman desperate for the attention of her narcotics-dealing son and searching for a sense of purpose in her life since the death of her husband. Sara's life seems to take a turn for the better when she is invited to appear on her favorite television program, but first she must suppress her food addiction in order to fit in her husband's favorite red dress.
As the movie progresses, we see Sara essentially lose her mind from diet pills as her refrigerator comes to life and people from the TV appear in her apartment to taunt her. Burstyn is able to play the spiraling, paranoid Sara perfectly, and even though many of her scenes are alone, Burstyn makes it seem as though Sara's delusions are a sick, hopeless reality.
Eventually, the film's four principal characters all hit rock bottom, with Sara now trapped within the sterile, lifeless walls of a mental hospital. Burstyn not only gave one of her greatest performances ever, if not her greatest, but she truly gave one of the best film performances of all time.

Kate Winslet - Titanic

Helen Hunt was good, but Kate Winslet was phenomenal.

Winona Ryder - Little Women

Breathtakingly amazing. Brought Jo March to life.