Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress — Winners Ranked

Allison Janney, having led a long and impressive career, really disappeared into character for I, Tonya (2017). The excellent hair and wardrobe work for her character certainly helped the transformation. She adds a lot to the role as the contemptible mother of Tanya Harding.

Acting opposite Margot Robbie delivering a stellar performance of her own makes for plenty of great friction between the two.

In Martin Scorsese’s 2004 biopic on Howard Hawks, The Aviator (2004), Cate Blanchett took on the role of Hollywood screen icon Katherine Hepburn. Blanchett’s portrayal feels true to the persona of Katherine Hepburn without it limiting her emotional range or feeling like a simple impression.

Director Martin Scorsese manages often to bring out the best in the actors he works with, and Cate Blanchett is no exception.

Mo’Nique began her career as a stand-up comedian. By the time she gave her Oscar winning performance in Precious (2009) as the titular character’s abusive mother, her career had taken off in a drastically different direction. Mo’Nique’s performance in Precious is excellent and layered in surprisingly nuanced ways.

Though the film isn’t telling her character’s story, Mo’Nique manages to steal the show, especially in her big show-stopping scene toward the end. Here's a pivotal scene we brought into StudioBinder's screenwriting software.

Beatrice Straight’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar win came as a huge surprise to many as her involvement in Network (1976) s confined to just a single scene. It speaks to the immense talents that she was able to pack so much memorable emotion into less than five minutes.

It is also a testament to Paddy Chayefsky’s writing that a character with such limited screen time can feel fully fleshed out and believably dramatic. Follow the image link to read the entire scene.

In a film so heavily dominated by Russell Crowe in the male lead, Jennifer Connelly faced a challenging supporting role as a character who could have been cast off to the periphery if not for her excellent performance.

Jennifer Connelly needed to leave a deep impression as concisely as possible since A Beautiful Mind (2001) is so deeply rooted in the psychology of the protagonist. Obviously, that's exactly what she did.

Playing opposite Marlo Brando in one of his defining roles, Eva Marie Saint stands out to the same impressive degree as the acting titan. The romance between Brando and Maria Saint’s characters is magnetic and serves as the driving force behind much of the film’s external drama.

Though she might not be remembered with quite the same reverence as her co-star, Saint’s fine work in On the Waterfront (1954) is not to be overlooked. Here's a classic scene from the script the helped propel her to Oscar glory.

In a film stacked with impressive performances such as those from Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon stands out as Minnie Castevet, the manipulative neighbor. She plays a character that is just as evil as she is seemingly sweet and doting.

She pulls off a complex balance that many other performers would struggle with. See where Rosemary’s Baby (1968) ranks on our list of the greatest horror films ever made.

In Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Dianne Wiest manages to stand out from a large cast of performers who are all working at the top of their game. She strikes a perfect balance between the dramatic and the comedic sides of her character.

Hopefully, the massive creep behind the camera that is Woody Allen doesn’t completely tarnish all of the hard work performed by his casts.

Jessica Lange won her first of two Oscars for her performance in Tootsie (1982). The film was nominated for an impressive 10 Oscars, but Jessica Lange was the only one from the film to walk away with a statuette. Jessica Lange has given many great performances over the years and the award is well-deserved.

Viola Davis made a name for herself as both a scene-stealer and as a one-scene wonder, often accomplishing all that lead performers could do in just a single scene. Davis’ Oscar-winning performance in Fences (2016) should arguably be considered a leading performance since she is present throughout the entire film and her character is just as important to the story as Denzel Washington’s lead character. Her show-stopping scene in Fences is truly astounding.

Meryl Streep has been nominated at the Academy Awards an astonishing
21 times! Her very first win came after just her second nomination with 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer. While much of the film is helmed by Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep gets the absolute-most mileage out of every single line she is given in her couple of big scenes.

UP NEXT

Best Actress Oscar Winners

So, that was our ranking of the best performances ever awarded the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Now that we’ve covered the supporting actress category, it’s the perfect time to explore the best lead actress category. Check out our ranking of the greatest ‘Best Actress’ Oscar winners of all time.

Up Next: Best Actress Winners →