Ranking the 2026 Best Actress Oscar nominees
This year, the Best Actress Oscar race is between Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne, Kate Hudson, Renate Reinsve and Emma Stone.
I predicted that Buckley would win the Oscar when I saw Hamnet at LFF in October (read that review here), and it certainly looks like my declaration is going to come true, given her clean sweep this awards season so far. However, Byrne has won some awards, like the Golden Globe, so I don’t think she can be fully discounted. And the Oscars have a history of throwing some curveballs to keep us on our toes, just when we think we know what’s coming, so I don’t consider Buckley’s win a 100% certainty.
Before I get into the nominees, I have to give a shout-out to two actresses who should have been here. Amanda Seyfried gave the best performance of her career in The Testament of Ann Lee and it blows my mind that she wasn’t nominated. I also thought Jennifer Lawrence would be a shoo-in with Die My Love as the Academy loves her, but her dark, feral performance shockingly didn’t make the cut.
Without further ado, here’s my personal ranking of this year’s Best Actress nominees.
Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
Ever since I saw Hamnet in October, there has only been one Best Actress winner for me and that is Jessie Buckley. She gives such a raw, shattering performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao‘s drama. Admittedly, she might overdo a couple of moments, but overall, I was stunned by her courage and vulnerability. While a clean sweep is quite boring, Buckley deserves this and I shall be gutted if she doesn’t get the Oscar now.
Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Byrne has been promoting Mary Bronstein‘s stressful drama for more than a year, and she has rightly collected several awards for her performance, which is easily her career-best. Seeing her in such a challenging, dramatic role is more meaningful as she’s best known for her comedic work. In another year, without Buckley as a clear frontrunner, she might have even won – and I would have been happy with that too.
Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value
We love to see a foreign-language actor breaking into the acting categories! Norwegian actress Reinsve deserves a spot for her moving performance in Joachim Trier‘s Sentimental Value. Her character, Nora Borg, is complicated, messy and troubled and she plays her with such subtlety and naturalism. Sentimental Value is filled with fantastic performances, and it’s no surprise that her co-stars Stellan Skarsgard, Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas got nominated too. Unfortunately, only Skarsgard has a real chance of winning.
Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue
This music biopic has its fair share of critics, but I liked it! Hudson impressed me with her portrayal of Neil Diamond tribute singer Claire Sardina, a sunny, chipper person who struggles with her mental health after an accident turns her life upside down. Hudson, who is best known for comedy, shows off a darker, more emotional side that we don’t get to see often. If that wasn’t enough, she has to nail a specific accent and pretend like she has a physical disability. That being said, I didn’t expect her to be nominated and I would have given her spot to Amanda Seyfried or Jennifer Lawrence.
Emma Stone in Bugonia
First things first, I love Emma Stone and Bugonia was my second favourite movie of 2025, but I don’t think she deserved this spot over Seyfried and Lawrence. She is good – she is ALWAYS good – but Jesse Plemons was by far the stronger performer in Bugonia and the role didn’t feel like as much of a stretch compared to her previous Oscar-winning parts, La La Land and Poor Things. She won her second only two years ago, so I think it’s somebody else’s turn. It’s my favourite Stone-Yorgos Lanthimos collab though!