Best Actress in the 80s: An Alternative Oscar History
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 8:00AM 
With one win and five additional nods, Meryl Streep was the Best Actress queen of the 1980s. Will she be similarly dominant in my ideal Oscars ballots? Come find out.
Nathaniel has shared some of his annual top ten lists from the 1980s in honor of the site's special theme for November. Now, it's time for me to present some lists of my own. Rather than my favorites from each year, let's consider one of the readership's favorite Oscar races, instead – Best Actress. Only, instead of the Academy's choices, you get to appreciate or disparage my picks. From 1980 to 1989, I compiled what my ballots would look like, selecting these dream nominees from the pool of eligible films for each year. This is another glimpse into my personal Academy Awards, that gigantic spreadsheet, with bonus honorable mentions, ineligible performance shout-outs, and some titles still on my watchlist, waiting to be seen…
1980
Judy Davis, MY BRILLIANT CAREER
Shelley Duvall, THE SHINING *winner*
Nicole Garcia, MY AMERICAN UNCLE
Mary Tyler Moore, ORDINARY PEOPLE
Sissy Spacek, COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER
Honorable Mentions: Shelley Duvall in POPEYE, Sophia Loren in BLOOD FEUD, Lily Tomlin in NINE TO FIVE.
Ineligible: Anouk Aimée in LEAP INTO THE VOID, Vanessa Redgrave in PLAYING FOR TIME.
On the Watchlist: Chieko Baisho in A DISTANT CRY FROM SPRING, Christine Buchegger in FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES, Romy Schneider in WOMANLIGHT.
1981
Isabelle Huppert, LOULOU *winner*
Krystyna Janda, MAN OF MARBLE
Diane Keaton, REDS
Sissy Spacek, RAGGEDY MAN
Kathleen Turner, BODY HEAT
Honorable Mentions: Faye Dunaway in MOMMIE DEAREST, Bernadette Peters in PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, Hanna Schygulla in LILI MARLEEN.
Ineligible: Isabelle Adjani in POSSESSION, Isabelle Huppert in THE WINGS OF THE DOVE, Krystyna Janda in MAN OF IRON.
On the Watchlist: Julie Andrews in S.O.B., Fanny Ardant in THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR, Isabelle Huppert in EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.
1982
Sandy Dennis, COME BACK TO THE 5 & DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN
Diane Keaton, SHOOT THE MOON
Jessica Lange, FRANCES *winner*
Barbara Sukowa, LOLA
Rosel Zech, VERONIKA VOSS
Honorable Mentions: Julie Andrews in VICTOR/VICTORIA, Jessica Lange in TOOTSIE, Jennifer Jason Leigh in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, Meryl Streep in SOPHIE’S CHOICE.
Ineligible: Nora Aunor in HIMALA.
On the Watchlist: Sônia Braga in I LOVE YOU, Natja Brunckhorst in CHRISTIANE F., Dolly Parton in THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS.
1983
Teri Garr, MR. MOM
Mariel Hemingway, STAR 80
Linda Hunt, THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
Meryl Streep, SILKWOOD *winner*
Debra Winger, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Honorable Mentions: Shirley MacLaine in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, Janet Suzman in THE DRAUGHTSMAN’S CONTRACT.
Ineligible: Inna Churikova in VASSA, Miou-Miou in ENTRE NOUS, Kaycee Moore in BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS, Sumiko Sakamoto in THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA.
On the Watchlist: Rosanna Arquette in BABY IT’S YOU, Linda Griffiths & Jane Hallaway in LIANNA, Isabelle Huppert in THE TROUT, Joey Kennedy in STARSTRUCK.
1984
Mia Farrow, BROADWAY DANNY ROSE
Jessica Lange, COUNTRY
Darling Légitimus, SUGAR CANE ALLEY *winner*
Gena Rowlands, LOVE STREAMS
Kathleen Turner, ROMANCING THE STONE
Honorable Mentions: Helen Mirren in CAL, Vanessa Redgrave in THE BOSTONIANS, Kathleen Turner in CRIMES OF PASSION.
Ineligible: Glenn Close in SOMETHING ABOUT AMELIA, Swatilekha Sengupta in THE HOME AND THE WORLD.
On the Watchlist: Karen Allen in STARMAN, Sandrine Bonnaire in À NOUS AMOURS, Isabelle Huppert in PASSION, Diane Keaton in MRS. SOFFEL
1985
Norma Aleandro, THE OFFICIAL STORY
Cher, MASK
Laura Dern, SMOOTH TALK
Mia Farrow, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO *winner*
Whoopi Goldberg, THE COLOR PURPLE
Honorable Mentions: Geraldine Page in THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, Miranda Richardson in DANCE WITH A STRANGER, Maggie Smith in A PRIVATE FUNCTION, Vanessa Redgrave in WETHERBY.
Ineligible: Michelle Yeoh in YES, MADAM!
On the Watchlist: Isabelle Adjani in METRO, Theresa Russell in INSIGNIFICANCE, Lori Singer in TROUBLE IN MIND.
1986
Ellen Greene, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Carmen Maura, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?
Marie Rivière, SUMMER
Helen Shaver, DESERT HEARTS
Sigourney Weaver, ALIENS *winner*
Honorable Mentions: Sandrine Bonnaire in VAGABOND, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey & Dianne Wiest in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, Chloe Webb in SID AND NANCY.
Ineligible: Kris Bidenko & Emma Coles in TWO FRIENDS.
On the Watchlist: Anne Bancroft & Sissy Spacek in ‘NIGHT MOTHER, Béatrice Dalle in BETTY BLUE, Isabelle Huppert in SINCERELY CHARLOTTE.
1987
Cher, MOONSTRUCK
Glenn Close, FATAL ATTRACTION
Faye Dunaway, BARFLY
Sally Kirkland, ANNA *winner*
Maggie Smith, THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE
Honorable Mentions: Holly Hunter in BROADCAST NEWS and RAISING ARIZONA, Catherine Mouchet in THÉRÈSE, Meryl Streep in IRONWEED.
Ineligible: Stéphane Audran in BABETTE’S FEAST, Yang Lin in DAUGHTER OF THE NILE.
On the Watchlist: Juliette Binoche in RENDEZ-VOUS, Christine Lahti in HOUSEKEEPING, Sheila McCarthy in I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING.
1988
Glenn Close, DANGEROUS LIAISONS *winner*
Carmen Maura, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
Gena Rowlands, ANOTHER WOMAN
Susan Sarandon, BULL DURHAM
Meryl Streep, A CRY IN THE DARK
Honorable Mentions: Jamie Lee Curtis in A FISH CALLED WANDA, Li Gong in RED SORGHUM, Michelle Pfeiffer in MARRIED TO THE MOB, Sigourney Weaver in GORILLAS IN THE MIST.
Ineligible: Joan Plowright & Juliet Stevenson in DROWNING BY NUMBERS.
On the Watchlist: Barbara Hershey & Jodhi May in A WORLD APART, Amy Irving in CROSSING DELANCEY, Christine Lahti in RUNNING ON EMPTY, Nonna Mordyukova in THE COMISSAR, CCH Pounder in BAGDAD CAFÉ, Zelda Rubinstein in ANGUISH.
1989
Annette Bening, VALMONT
Isabelle Huppert, STORY OF WOMEN *winner*
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, THE ABYSS
Michelle Pfeiffer, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS
Meg Ryan, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…
Honorable Mentions: Sally Field in STEEL MAGNOLIAS, Nicole Kidman in DEAD CALM, Kathleen Turner in THE WAR OF THE ROSES.
Ineligible: Maja Barełkowska, Adrianna Biedrzyńska, Ewa Błaszczyk, Krystyna Janda, Maja Komorowska, Maria Kościałkowska, Maria Pakulnis, Anna Polony & Grażyna Szapołowska in DEKALOG.
On the Watchlist: Youki Kudoh in MYSTERY TRAIN, Patricia Neal & Shelley Winters in AN UNREMARKABLE LIFE.
What about you? What are your Best Actress ballots for the 1980s and which movies should I add to my watchlist beyond those mentioned above?
Reader Comments (23)
I usually spend hours just looking at your personal ballots, Cláudio. Incredibly fascinating to see even if I saw you drop Streep from your '82 lineup.
Opened this and quickly scrolled down to make sure Mia was on top in 1985. That's probably my favorite performance of the 80s, just fully infused with the complete tone of the movie in every second.
And then scrolling a little further, there's Ellen Greene, another fave.
It's enough to make me forgive leaving off Melanie Griffith for Working Girl, s performance I know isn't perfect, but I find interesting in every moment, with some fun, challenging accent work. I also think she basically invented the archetype that Meg Ryan eventually sanded down and ran with.
80
Judy Davis – My Brilliant Career
Goldie Hawn – Private Benjamin
Mary Tyler Moore - Ordinary People *
Gena Rowlands – Gloria
Sissy Spacek - The Coal Miner’s Daughter
81
Katharine Hepburn - On Golden Pond
Diane Keaton – Reds *
Susan Sarandon - Atlantic City
Meryl Streep – The French Lieutenant’s Woman
Kathleen Turner – Body Heat
82
Julie Andrews - Victor/Victoria
Diane Keaton – Shoot the Moon
Jessica Lange - Frances
Meryl Streep - Sophie’s Choice *
Sissy Spacek – Missing
83
Jane Alexander - Testament
Shirley McLaine – Terms of Endearment *
Meryl Streep – Silkwood
Debra Winger - Terms of Endearment
Julie Walters - Educating Rita
84
Judy Davis - A Passage to India
Sally Field - Places In the Heart
Vanessa Redgrave – The Bostonians *
Jessica Lange - Country
Kathleen Turner – Romancing the Stone
85
Norma Alejandro - The Official Story *
Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple
Geraldine Page – A Trip to Bountiful
Vanessa Redgrave - Wetherby
Miranda Richardson – Dance with a Stranger
86
Julie Andrews – Duet for One
Anne Bancroft – Night Mother
Marlee Matlin - Children of a Lesser God *
Sissy Spacek – Night Mother
Kathleen Turner – Peggy Sue Got Married
87
Cher – Moonstruck
Holly Hunter – Broadcast News
Sally Kirkland - Anna
Maggie Smith – The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne *
Joanne Woodward – The Glass Menagerie
88
Glenn Close – Dangerous Liaisons *
Shirley McLaine – Madame Sousatzka
Gena Rowlands – Another Woman
Susan Sarandon – Bull Durham
Meryl Streep – A Cry In the Dark
89
Isabelle Adjani – Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins – Shirley Valentine
Jessica Lange – Music Box
Michelle Pfeiffer - The Fabulous Baker Boys *
Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy
Your post make me look for "The Commissar", "Vassa", "Man of Marble", "Blood Feud", "Mr. Mom", "Sugar Cane Alley" which i hadn't heard before. It also made want to revisit "Story of Women"and "Mon Oncle D'Amerique". i'm looking forward to your 90s selections.
PS. Many week years in the Best Actress category: 1980, 1984, 1986.
Kudos on all the Kathleen Turner appreciation. I notice you leave out Peggy Sue Got Married—though she's reliably good in that movie, it's a very hard-to-love mess of a film. I always found it bizarre that her lone Oscar nomination came out of that.
To me Body Heat and The War of the Roses are her strongest dramatic and comedic performances, respectively. And Romancing the Stone is obviously her great movie star calling card.
This is a decade that I really liked at the Oscars. Unlike the 70s, most of the nominees are the center of their films and there are really some fun nominations. There was also a willingness to embrace more subtle choices alongside the regulars.
Given how many french actresses are mentioned, I’m surprised that Deneuve doesn’t make it in for the Last Metro. Otherwise I love this list, especially the championing of Mia Farrow in The Pyrple Rose of Cairo. A wonderful performance, especially for cinephiles.
I love the Maggie Smith shoutouts. Her performances are so different but fit her films and characters perfectly.
However, I would include two winners. Shirley MacLaine gives a brilliant star turn in Terms of Endearment. I also really like Marlon in Children of a Lesser God. A film that has problems, but one where she gives a searing performance.
Now this is what I come here for list making and sharing lists,a niche subject but always fun,here we go,winners come first on the list,can we do supporting next!
1980
Mary Tyler Moore Ordinary People
Sissy Spacek Coal Miner's Daughter
Ellen Burstyn Resurrection
Gena Rowlands Gloria
Theresa Russell Bad Timing
6th Spot Judy Davis My Brilliant Career
1981
Diane Keaton Reds
Marsha Mason Only When I Laugh
Katharine Hepburn On Golden Pond
Sissy Spacek Raggedy Man
Jessica Lange The Postman Always Rings Twice
6th spot Meryl Streep the French Lieutenant's Woman
1982
Jessica Lange Frances
Sissy Spacek Missing
Meryl Streep Sophie's Choice
Diane Keaton Shoot The Moon
Glenda Jackson The Return of the Soldier if it's eligible,anyone know for sure,if not Sandy Dennis
6th Spot Debra Winger An Officer and A Gentleman
1983
Meryl Streep Silkwood
Debra Winger Terms of Endearment
Shirley MacLaine Terms of Endearment
Barbra Streisand Yentl
Bonnie Bedelia Heart Like A Wheel
6th spot Jane Alexander Testament
1984
Vanessa Redgrave The Bostonians
Sally Field Places In The Heart
Sissy Spacek The River
Jessica Lange Country
Karen Allen Starman
6th spot Mia Farrow Broadway Danny Rose
1985
Whoopi Goldberg The Color Purple
Cher Mask
Meryl Streep Plenty
Jessica Lange Sweet Dreams
Anne Bancroft Agnes of God
6th spot Sissy Spacek Marie
1986
Sigourney Weaver Aliens
Sissy Spacek Night Mother
Jane Fonda the Morning After
Marlee Matlin Children of A Lesser God
Julie Andrews Duet For One
6th spot Kathleen Turner Peggy Sue Got Married
1987
Cher Moonstruck
Glenn Close Fatal Attraction
Maggie Smith The Lonely Passion of Judith Herne
Bette Davis The Whales of August
Holly Hunter Broadcast News
6th spot Lillian Gish the Whales of August
1988
Glenn Close Dangerous Liasons
Jodie Foster The Accused
Gena Rowlands Another Woman
Sigourney Weaver Gorillas in the Mist
Meryl Streep A Cry In the Dark
6th spot Susan Sarandon Bull Durham
1989
Jessica Tandy Driving Miss Daisy
Meg Ryan When Harry Met Sally
Jessica Lange Music Box
Michelle Pfeiffer The Fabulous Baker Boys
Sally Field Steel Magnolias
6th spot Andie MacDowell Sex Lies and Videotape
No Katharine Hepburn, no Shirley MacLaine, no Julie Andrews, no Gena Rowlands for Gloria, no Sally Field, no Jessica Tandy (in the year you menaged to nominate Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio for The Abyss??)
It seems like you have some serious issue with older actresses.
Thank God the Oscar is the Oscar, because this list is even poorer and full of mediocrity.
Lists like these prove that there may be weak Best Actress years at the Oscars, but great work is always there, if only the Academy made it more regular to go out of their usual fare.
Love that you have Shelley winning for The Shining. Your top 7 for 1983 is wonderful (although I'd have Hunt winning). And Weaver winning for Aliens really would have been fitting (although I am also a big fan of Greene).
I wish Kathleen Turner had won in 1989. One of my favorite performances.
Just curious - why was Drowning by Numbers ineligible? (I'm a fan of Juliet Stevenson.)
@ScottC: Hi! I hope it's all right if I answer your question.
Per IMDb, Drowning by Numbers only had its US release on 1991. I checked the eligibility list for 1991 and it was also not there. It's likely that its distributor just didn't do the paperwork to submit the film for Oscar consideration.
I'd like anyone with expert knowledge to let me know if Miss Glenda Jackson is eligible in 1982 For The Return of the Soldier.
1988 is my favourite year of yours Claudio,that would have been a stellar line up,I don't think you pic any of Oscars winner except Cher and Sissy as nominees only,I only agree with them in 87 and 89,very academic picks in some years a bit to obscure really to enjoy discussing them,a lot of them i've never heard of.
@mrripley - she was not.
@everyone - I'm so sad that SquareSpace ate a whole enormous comment I entered about this post listing every eligible leading lady (from 240 or so films) Sigh. This is an extremely EXTREMELY condensed version of that but I think 1986 is quite interesting because the Oscar race was clearly Matlin way out front with a slim chance of Turner as the spoiler but the Comedy Globe actually went to Spacek. The precursor orgs & critics prizes were all over the place (Spacek for NY, Sandrine Bonnaire for LA, Chloe Webb for both Boston and NSFC, Turner for NBR) so i love that year for its chaos
my list would probably read
Ellen Greene, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Carmen Maura, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?
Kathleen Turner, PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED
Sigourney Weaver, ALIENS *winner*
and then Dianne Wiest, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS if I made the switch to lead which I probably should in hindsight (after years of getting religiously outraged about people believing films dont have leading roles) but the argument that everyone is supporting in that particular film is not entirely without merit since all three sisters plus their two beaus have storylines too, which would make it a five lead film!
but I also love Sandrine Bonnaire in VAGABOND, Beatrice Dalle in BETTY BLUE, and I remember thinking Kim Basinger (Razzie Nominee) was way better in 9 1/2 WEEKS than she ever got credit for being due to the nature of the topic/film/role.
it's an underdiscussed year with a lot of female protagonists.
It's always so fun to see your personal ballots. Your lists and recommendations have pushed me towards a lot of interesting stuff. And bless everyone who's shared their own ballots in the comments, too - if I'd seen enough from the 80s I'd be sharing my favorites too.
YES ON SIGOURNEY WEAVER FOR ALIENS!!!!!!!
This is fun!
Let’s begin with the best moments. So happy to see recognition of the overlooked Faye Dunaway in Barfly (as fond of Oscar is of actresses playing drunks, this omission still puzzles me), Diane Keaton in Shoot the Moon (the early release date left this astonishing performance in the also ran column), and Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose of Cairo (that final close up in the movie theater is perhaps the greatest cinematic tribute to the power of film).
Now, “What the hell were you thinking?” moments. Teri Garr in Mr. Mom over Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment?!? Clearly Garr’s recent demise affected your normally sound judgement. And then sidelining Dianne Wiest in Hannah and Her Sisters. There is no excuse for such a decision.
1980 needs revision. Where is Ellen Burstyn for Resurrection? The actress’s deeply personal work in developing the project and her celebration of colleagues from the Actor’s Studio make this underseen gem deserving of recognition. And Debra Winger deserves accolades for bring truth, pathos, and grit to a John Travolta vanity project. Urban Cowboy is a surreal experience. Travolta is so bad I can’t help but giggle while Winger will break my heart in the very same scene.
OMG! Wins for Lange in Frances and Kirkland in Anna? These two divas reek of the similar overwrought histrionics embraced by Andrea Riseborough in the overrated To Leslie.
@Nat cheers,so i'm left with Andrews vs Winger vs Dennis then,Dennis is my current pick,i'll need a rewatch.
To each their own, as they say. I love encountering a wide variety of opinions.
I’ll share my view here: I saw Lange in Frances earlier this year. It is a competent performance but very much in line with her approach to acting: a bit too melodramatic, simplistic and over the top for my taste. On the other hand, I absolutely adore La Streep in Sophie’s Choice. Stella Adler writes that an actor’s talent lies in one’s choices. The choices Streep makes in that film speak not of great talent but of genius. And I am not somebody prone to such grand statements.
To me, Streep is unequalled, especially when it comes to her work in the 1980s and the early 2000s. I agree on Silkwood. It is a great performance - so energetic, witty, physical, so full of life. But I also think that more people should see A Cry in the Dark. Close has that sentimental hold of 1988, but in my opinion, Streep should have won, hands down.
I'm sorry but giving Duvall the win in 1980 and not nominating Streep for Sophie's Choice are both absolutely outrageous choices.
I think Jessica Lange dodged a bullet by not winning for Frances. The movie has some serious integrity issues. The opening title boldy says "based on a true story", but that couldn't be further from the truth. The most egregious of its lies being Frances Farmer was lobotomized, which she wasn't.
I love Sissy Spacek, and I love what Mark Rydell, the director of The River, has to say about her here - ""She is the consummate American rural young woman, with strength, and fiber, and a luminous quality" - agree wholeheartedly with Mark's quote, but I don't get or agree with that nomination. She has a beautiful tearful scene after suffering the loss of one of the farm animals and a tense scene with a tractor, but not much else to do but support Mel. If anything, she got the nomination for having to kiss Mel Gibson. You would think that would be easy, with Mel at the peak of his beauty - but damn, his kissing in this film is terrible and awkward!
Cláudio, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? is really 86? On IMDB it says that it debuted commercially in the USA on March 30, 85. If so, I always put Maura on my ballot in the wrong year.
@ Henrique Perez: Hi! Hope it's all right if I answer your question.
WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? is included in the reminder list of eligible productions for 1986. It is most likely that, despite its March 1985 release listed on IMDb, its Los Angeles premiere (sole qualifying release) would have fallen on 1986, therefore making it eligible on the latter year. You can check the reminder list per year at atogt.com.
Hope that helps.