Click to play videoNew Delhi: The race to the Oscar nominations is now in its last leg. Here is a look at which one of the leading ladies are the key players in the race for the Best Actress Awards.
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren's royal act in The Queen has pushed her up on the list of prime Oscar contenders. Portraying the British Monarch, Elizabeth II, this British actress successfully made her harsh, yet sympathetic, performance look glamorous. With a Golden Globe and Venice Film Festival Award already to her credit, Mirren has just firmed up her chances for the Oscar.
Penelope Cruz
It's already got her the best actress award at the Cannes in May 2006 and now Spanish actress, Penelope Cruz is aiming at the Oscar with her role in Pedro Almodovar's Volver. Cruz plays Raimunda in this film, which is being touted as a dark comedy about women across three generations.
Meryl Streep
With 13 Academy nominations and two Academy Awards to her credit, Meryl Streep has always been an Academy favourite. She is also the second most nominated actor at the Golden Globes. But this year she is in the race for her role In Devil Wears Prada where she perfects the act of a demanding and exacting boss as an editor of a leading fashion magazine.
Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet sailed into the Oscars nominations earlier with Titanic and is the youngest actress to have been nominated for the Award. Winslet is now vying for an Oscar for her touching performance in the disturbing family portrait Little Children.
From The Queen to the Devil, the list of nominees is impressive but it's difficult to predict which one of these actresses will get the determining Oscar nod this year.
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