The 94th annual Academy Awards take place on March 27th, 2022 and there is set to be a titanic battle for the Best Actress category between five world-renowned Hollywood superstars at the Oscars.
In one of the most star-studded categories in recent years, we’ll see Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Colman, Kristen Stewart, and Penelope Cruz competing for the big award with only Kidman and Colman having ever been successful in this category in the past.
We’ll break down what each actress is nominated for and make our betting pick for the award too.
| Oscars 2022 - Best Actress |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Chastain | +125 | +120 | +125 |
| Nicole Kidman | +150 | +125 | +155 |
| Olivia Colman | +400 | +500 | +400 |
| Kristen Stewart | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Penelope Cruz | +2000 | +1500 | +1800 |
None of the five actresses are nominated for their roles in a movie up for the ‘Best Film’ gong, unlike the men’s category where two of the films were up there. That’s not that surprising since the categories are rarely intertwined in that way, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
All five performances were absolutely brilliant and the girls have had great years, so how do we separate them when it comes to picking a winner for this award?
Who is the favorite for the Oscars award? Who is the most likely to win the Oscars award? And who’s got a real shot rather than just in the race to make sure there are enough nominees? Let’s take a look…
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye (+125)
The film is about a wealthy Christian televangelist whose husband went to federal prison for fraud, Chastain was phenomenal in her performance as Tammy Faye Bakker.
She turned in a manic performance with her high-pitched voice and is quite clearly the star of the show and despite some poor box-office returns and not-so-great reviews from critics she finds herself in the mix as the favorite for the biggest gong of the year.
Chastain got a nomination for this Oscars award back in 2013 for her performance in Zero Dark Thirty but missed out, but this is arguably her best chance of success in this one.
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Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos (+155)
Originally Kidman opened with much larger odds to win this Oscars Award, but after a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and a Golden Globe win she has seen her odds cut big time.
Being the Ricardos was a huge hit in Hollywood, with four-time Academy Award nominee Aaron Sorkin as director, with Kidman’s performance receiving huge credit despite her lack of attempt to look or sound like character Lucille Ball, giving her plenty of leeways when it comes to comparisons.
Kidman won the Oscars Best Actress Award way back in 2002 for her performance in The Hours and a victory here is very possible, which would allow her to go down in history as one of the best actresses of her generation with a second success.
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Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter (+500)
The 2019 winner of this very award is back in the mix once again, this time for her performance in The Lost Daughter.
It would be a very rare accomplishment by anyone’s standards, but it’s not impossible and Colman is widely considered as one of the very best actors working today.
Colman isn’t as outgoing in this performance as she was in previous showings such as The Favourite and Fleabag. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is very good and it risked alienating some Academy voters, but Colman’s performance was so good that she still got the nod for the award and has a decent chance of success.
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Kristen Stewart – Spencer (+500)
Another biopic lead gets the nod here and Stewart’s performance as Princess Diana is wonderful, but arguably gets a nomination because of how easy the comparison is to make to the real-life person.
Everyone was around to see the life of Diana play out in front of them, so Stewart’s performance is easily comparable. However her excellent portrayal of Diana during the British royal family’s 1991 Christmas celebrations, Stewart turns in one of the best performances of her career.
Initially expected to be one of the front-runners for the award, her snub in the SAG Awards halted her momentum but this is a different set of voters and nominees so she can’t be ruled out entirely.
Penelope Cruz – Parallel Mothers (+2000)
Penelope Cruz finds herself as the big outsider in her seventh collaboration with Spanish director Pedro Almodovar in Parallel Mothers.
She plays a photographer who unexpectedly becomes pregnant at 40, only for the hospital to mix up her baby with someone else’s. It’s a masterful performance from Cruz, who is the only one in this race not based on previous source material.
Her victory depends on whether she can break through the barrier of more well-known movies in the race. But her victory at the Venice Film Festival, where she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, means she has got a big chance and at +2000 is surely worth a cheeky flutter.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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