Cate Blanchett

A luminous Aussie actress able to embody markedly disparate characters, Blanchett made her mark in her homeland as a formidable leading lady on stage at the Sydney Theatre Company. In 1998, with only a handful of films on her résumé, she captivated art-house aficionados as the title character in Elizabeth. Portraying the Virgin Queen's tumultuous ascendancy to the throne, Blanchett was a revelation, capturing the monarch's passion and intelligence, and earning her first Oscar nod. Blanchett showed her range in her subsequent roles, quickly proving she was equally believable as quirky, contemporary-era gals, such as the nasal-voiced spouse of an air-traffic controller (Pushing Tin), and a troubled Southern psychic (The Gift). Drawing again on her regal bearing, Blanchett lent her considerable poise to the small but memorably imposing part of Elfin royal Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then, in 2004, she took home an Oscar for channeling Hollywood royalty in her portrayal of Academy Award-winning actress Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. In 2007, Blanchett became only the 11th performer to receive both supporting and leading category Oscar nominations in the same year, for her roles in I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Married since 1997 to director Andrew Upton, the mother of three continues to appear in high-profile films, starring alongside Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Russell Crowe in Robin Hood (2010). ~ Rovi