by Baby Clyde
Hilary Swank accepts her second Best Actress Oscar at the 77th Academy Awards.
To celebrate the 50th birthday of two-time Best Actress winner Hilary Swank, I've decided to rank all of the double champs in everyone's favorite category. It's a list of all-time greats, but the performances range from the sublime to the truly Dangerous. They are being judged solely on the performance, but I may be somewhat swayed if they beat out more deserving nominees or didn't win for their best work. I do not include those overachieving triple and quadruple recipients (Kate, Frances, Meryl, and Ingrid) who don't need any more attention. So, with a hearty Happy Birthday to the birthday girl, let's see how our Million Dollar Baby stacks up against her second-time sisters…
11. GLENDA JACKSON (1970/1973)
There is no doubt that Glenda Jackson was a superb actress and her late career acting comeback including BAFTA and Tony Awards was a joy to witness but two Best Actress wins seems like overkill. Especially as neither of them is remotely necessary. In fact, had she been an early 70s four-time nominee, few would be complaining now that she'd never triumphed. I find her first win for Women In Love baffling as she's no better or worse than her three co-stars, so it's hard to understand why she was singled out. Her second for A Touch of Class is equally curious against such powerhouse competition, but I assume the fact that she showed her versatility with a comedy against the heavy drama of the other ladies made the difference. I was really hoping for a Glenda Jackson/Mike Leigh or Ken Loach collaboration before she died and a final deserved hurrah at the Oscars.
- WOMEN IN LOVE: 2/5
- A TOUCH OF CLASS: 3/5
Total: 5/10
10. BETTE DAVIS (1935/1938)
Surprising to see the premier movie actress of her generation so low but unfortunately whilst Jezebel is a triumph, Dangerous is an absolute debacle. The first example of both a make-up award and the Academy's ever-present predilection for rewarding young up-and-coming actresses (it's always actresses) with unwarranted early wins when they will undoubtedly do far more interesting work in the future. 1938 is the start of Bette's 'Imperial Phase,' and a win here is entirely deserved. Had she also won for Little Foxes, Now Voyager, All About Eve, or What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, I'd probably place her second, but her first win is the worst performance on this whole list, so she ends up near the bottom.
- DANGEROUS: 1/5
- JEZEBEL: 4/5
Total: 5/10
09. LUISE RAINER (1936/1937)
The first person to win consecutive acting awards, the poster girl for Oscar curses, and surely most people's 11th placer, but Ms. Rainer was a fine actress despite being largely forgotten today. If two wins for Glenda seems excessive, then Luise's seem positively ridonculous. That said, her performances are terrific. Unfortunately, one is an obvious Supporting role promoted in Lead to try and secure her stab at stardom, and the other is a problematic yellow-face performance in The Good Earth that has aged like a century egg, but Rainer isn't to blame for either. The telephone scene from The Great Ziegfeld is deservedly a classic. She fled Hollywood very soon after her biggest success, chafing at the strictures of the studio system. Who knows what could have been had she been more amenable to Louis B. Mayer's dictatorial ways?
- THE GREAT ZIEGFELD: 3/5
- THE GOOD EARTH: 3/5
Total: 6/10
08. SALLY FIELD (1979/1984)
I love Sally Field. After Meryl, I consider her the finest American actress of her generation. But I also consider her finest performance to be playing Maura Tierney's bipolar mother in ER, so that doesn't say an awful lot about the quality of her Oscar wins. Norma Rae is a worthy win against a stellar lineup, whilst Places in the Heart is the best of a terrible bunch.
- NORMA RAE: 4/5
- PLACES IN THE HEART: 2/5
Total: 6/10
07. JANE FONDA (1971/1978)
I love Jane Fonda. A truly outstanding actress full of intelligence and conviction. I'm entirely on board with her having two Oscars, but I'm not overly keen on either of her 1971 wins for Klute or 1978 for Coming Home. Had she won in '69, '79, or even '86, she'd be higher up this list. I'd even consider giving her a Supporting win in '81 as well.
- KLUTE: 3/5
- COMING HOME: 3/5
Total: 6/10
06. ELIZABETH TAYLOR (1960/1966)
My opinion of Liz's Oscar wins is seemingly the exact opposite of everyone else on the planet's. I have no problem with her 1960 victory for the appalling Butterfield 8. She gives a great, big, brassy Movie Star performance the sort that only Liz Taylor can give and whilst she may not be my personal pick it's hard to begrudge her after four losing nominations on the trot. She also gives a big, brassy movie star performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but this time, there's no getting around the fact that she's WAY too young for the role. Martha is supposed to be in her early 50's, Liz was 34. A few grey streaks in her hair can't disguise that she's the same age as George Segal. She doesn't do anything wrong, it's just not wholly convincing. It's like getting Jennifer Lawrence to play the role nowadays. Imagine Susan Hayward, Shelley Winters, or my first choice, Ava Gardner, as Martha. Of course, the perfect casting would have been Liz Taylor, in her early 50s. Wish she'd done it on Broadway.
- BUTTERFIELD 8: 3/5
- WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF: 3/5
Total: 6/10
05. EMMA STONE (2016/2023)
What I was saying earlier about Bette's first win is just as valid for Emma's entirely unnecessary first Oscar. She's fantastic in La La Land's audition scenes but these are totally undermined by the lackluster singing and dancing and limited chemistry with her equally uninspired co-star. But she was the American It Girl that year so of course she won. This victory looks particularly ridiculous now that the performance pales in comparison to her astonishing turn as Bella Baxter in the weird and wonderful Poor Things. Who knew she had it in her? One of the most remarkable of all Best Actress wins and undoubtedly a sign of far more interesting work to come.
- LA LA LAND: 2/5
- POOR THINGS: 5/5
Total: 7/10
04. JODIE FOSTER (1988/1991)
Here we go again. Jodie's return as a grown-up leading lady in The Accused was enough of a narrative to nab her first Best Actress win. Unfortunately, it was against an all-timer Best Actress lineup and the performance, while fine, doesn't hold up against the likes of Close and Streep at the top of their game. It's also hard to believe she'd have received the votes if we'd known that a well-deserved second win for the iconic role of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs was just around the corner (And we could have saved ourselves 35 years of Glenn Close angst).
- THE ACCUSED: 3/5
- THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS: 5/5
Total: 8/10
03. OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND (1946/1949)
To Each His Own is possibly the most obscure Best Actress win of all time. There's no revered director, famous co-stars, or best-selling novel it was adapted from to increase its cultural impact. If it weren't for Olivia's first statuette, it would likely be completely forgotten now. Which is a shame because it's a first-rate romantic drama, and she's terrific in it. Not my first choice (That's Celia Johnson obvs) but a worthy winner all the same, now totally overshadowed by her second award a short three years later. The Heiress is, of course, an acting masterclass and the high point of Olivia's illustrious career. Seldom there has been so decisive a winner.
- TO EACH HIS OWN: 4/5
- THE HEIRESS: 5/5
Total: 9/10
02. HILARY SWANK (1999/2004)
Were two wins in five years too much? Did they set expectations for Swank's subsequent career too high? Possibly, but the truth is both awards are entirely justified. Boys Don't Cry is an audacious piece of work that could (should) have aged horribly but, instead, feels fresh and provocative, and modern 25 years later. This is almost entirely down to the star-making turn by Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena. A subtle, powerful, empathetic, performance that probably wouldn't be allowed today but stand out as one of the best wins this category has ever seen. Unfortunately, her second win may have typecast her. So effective did she prove herself playing tough, masculine, 'White Trash' roles that she deservedly triumphed again for Million Dollar Baby just five years later. Since then, Hollywood hasn't quite known what to do with her, but these two acclaimed performances will always prove what a first-rate actress yet underutilized talent Hilary Swank is. Let's hope her 50s will bring some meaty opportunities that again catch Oscar's attention.
- BOYS DON'T CRY: 5/5
- MILLION DOLLAR BABY: 4/5
Total: 9/10
01. VIVIEN LEIGH (1939/1951)
Two of the most iconic roles in cinema history. Two of the greatest performances ever put on screen. Sometimes, the Academy does get it right.
- GONE WITH THE WIND: 5/5
- A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: 5/5
Total: 10/10
How would you rank these eleven double Best Actress champions?