Favorite Actresses of the 2000s
by foxandhisfriends | created - 01 Mar 2011 | updated - 01 Mar 2011 | PublicHere's a list of actresses who gave some memorable performances in the 2000s.
1. Juliette Binoche
Actress | The English Patient
Juliette Binoche was born in Paris, France, to Monique Yvette Stalens, a director, teacher, and actress, and Jean-Marie Binoche, a sculptor, director, and actor. Her mother was born in Czestochowa, Poland, of French, Walloon Belgian, and Polish descent, while her father is French. Juliette was only...
She won the Oscar in the 90s but it's in this decade she consistently took risks to work with respected directors.
The best ones: Flight of the Red Balloon, Code Unknown, Cache, Summer Hours, Certified Copy, Mary
Noted: In My Country, Jet Lag, Pars
We'll overlook it: Dan in Real Life, Chocolat
2. Tilda Swinton
Actress | We Need to Talk About Kevin
The iconoclastic gifts of the highly striking and ferociously talented actress Tilda Swinton have been appreciated by art house crowds and international audiences alike. After her stunning Oscar-winning turn as a high-powered corporate attorney in the George Clooney starring and critically-lauded ...
The best ones: I Am Love, The Deep End, Young Adam, Michael Clayton, Julia, Teknolust
Noted: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Adaptation., Broken Flowers, The Man from London
3. Isabelle Huppert
Actress | Elle
Isabelle Huppert was born March 16, 1953, in Paris, France, but spent her childhood in Ville d'Avray. Encouraged by her mother Annick Huppert (who was a teacher of English), she followed the Conservatory of Versailles and won an acting prize for her work in Alfred de Musset's "Un caprice". She then...
The best: The Piano Teacher, I Heart Huckabees, 8 Women, White Material, Les Destinees, Merci Pour Le Chocolat
Noted: Time of the Wolf, Ma Mere, Gabrielle
4. Julianne Moore
Actress | Far from Heaven
Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on December 3, 1960, the daughter of Anne (Love), a social worker, and Peter Moore Smith, a paratrooper, colonel, and later military judge. Her mother moved to the U.S. in 1951, from Greenock, Scotland. Her father, from ...
The best (American): Far From Heaven, The Hours, Children of Men, Savage Grace, Chloe, A Single Man
Noted: Blindness, The Kids Are All Right,
Why?!?!: The Shipping News, Hannibal, her husband's movies, The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio
5. Nicole Kidman
Actress | Moulin Rouge!
Elegant Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical ...
The best: Dogville, Birth, The Others, Margot at the Wedding, Rabbit Hole
Noted: The Interpreter, The Invasion, Cold Mountain, Moulin Rouge, The Human Stain
Why? Bewitched, Stepford Wives, NineBl
6. Michelle Williams
Actress | Blue Valentine
A small-town girl born and raised in rural Kalispell, Montana, Michelle Ingrid Williams is the daughter of Carla Ingrid (Swenson), a homemaker, and Larry Richard Williams, a commodity trader and author. Her ancestry is Norwegian, as well as German, British Isles, and other Scandinavian. She was ...
The best: Wendy and Lucy, Me without You, Blue Valentine, The Baxter, Land of Plenty
Noted: Brokeback Mountain, Synecdoche New York, Mammoth, Shutter Island, United States of Leland, The Station Agent
Why? Imaginary Heroes, The United States of Leland
7. Patricia Clarkson
Actress | The Station Agent
This remarkable, one-of-a-kind actress has, since the early 1990s, intrigued film and TV audiences with her glowing, yet careworn eccentricity and old world-styled glamour. Very much in demand these days as a character player, Patricia Clarkson nevertheless continues to avoid the temptation of ...
The best: Dogville, Far From Heaven, Cairo Time, The Station Agent, All the Real Girls
Noted: Pieces of April, Good Night and Good Luck, Whatever Works, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Married Life
8. Emmanuelle Devos
Actress | Rois et reine
Emmanuelle Devos was born on May 10, 1964 in Puteaux, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. She is an actress and writer, known for Kings & Queen (2004), Read My Lips (2001) and Just a Sigh (2013).
The best: Kings & Queen, The Beat that My Heart Skipped, Le Moustache, A Christmas Tale
9. Laura Linney
Actress | The Big C
Laura Leggett Linney was born in New York City on February 5, 1964, into a theatre family. Her father was prominent playwright Romulus Linney, whose own great-grandfather was a congressman from North Carolina. Her mother, Miriam Anderson (Leggett), is a nurse. Although she did not live in her ...
The Best: You Can Count On Me, The House of Mirth, The Squid & the Whale, The Savages
Noted: Kinsey, Mystic River
Why? The Mothman Prophecies, The Life of David Gale
10. Catherine Keener
Actress | Being John Malkovich
Catherine Keener is an American actress, Oscar-nominated for her roles in the independent films Being John Malkovich (1999) and Capote (2005). Acclaimed in her community for her quirky roles in independent film and mainstream such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Keener got her start as a casting ...
The best: Friends with Money, Please Give, Lovely & Amazing, Into the Wild, Where the Wild Things Are, Synecdoche New York
Noted: The 40-Year Old Virgin, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, Capote
Why? Death to Smoochy, S1M0NE, The Soloist
11. Charlotte Rampling
Actress | 45 Years
Tessa Charlotte Rampling was born 5 February 1946 in Sturmer, England, to Isabel Anne (Gurteen), a painter, and Godfrey Lionel Rampling, an Olympic gold medalist, army officer, and colonel, who became a NATO commander. She was educated at Jeanne d'Arc Académie pour Jeunes Filles in Versailles, ...
The best: Under the Sand, Swimming Pool, Heading South, The Cherry Orchard, Life During Wartime
Noted: Lemming, The Duchess, I'll Sleep when I'm Dead
Why? Basic Instinct 2
12. Cate Blanchett
Actress | Carol
Cate Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to June (Gamble), an Australian teacher and property developer, and Robert DeWitt Blanchett, Jr., an American advertising executive, originally from Texas. She has an older brother and a younger sister. When she was ten ...
The best: I'm Not There, Charlotte Gray, Coffee and Cigarettes, The Life Aquatic, The Aviator, Notes on a Scandal
Noted: The Good German, Babel, Little Fish, The Missing
Why?!?: The Shipping News, Indiana Jones 4, Robin Hood
13. Maggie Cheung
Actress | Fa yeung nin wah
Maggie Cheung was born on September 20, 1964, in Hong Kong, and moved at the age of eight with her family to England. After finishing secondary school, she returned to Hong Kong, where she began modeling and appearing in commercials. In 1983 she participated in the Ms. Hong Kong pageant, winning ...
The Best: In the Mood for Love, Clean
Noted: Hero
14. Emily Watson
Actress | Gosford Park
Emily Watson was born and raised in London, the daughter of Katharine (Venables), an English teacher, and Richard Watson, an architect. After a self-described sheltered upbringing, Watson attended university for three years in Bristol, studying English literature. She applied to drama school and ...
The best: Punch-Drunk Love, Gosford Park, The Proposition, Separate Lies
Noted: Synecdoche New York, Trixie
Why: Red Dragon
15. Kate Winslet
Actress | Titanic
Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...
The Best: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children,
Noted: The Reader, Iris, Revolutionary Road
What?!!? The Life of David Gale, The Holiday
16. Samantha Morton
Actress | Minority Report
Samantha Morton has established herself as one of the finest actors of her generation, winning Oscar nominations for her turns in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and Jim Sheridan's In America (2002). She has the talent to become one of the major performers in the cinema of this young century.
...
The best: Morvern Callar, Minority Report, Synecdoche New York, Control, Mister Lonely
Noted: The Messenger, Code 46, The Libertine
17. Emmanuelle Béart
Actress | 8 femmes
Emmanuelle Béart was born August 14, 1963, in Gassin, France. She lived with her mother, brothers, and sister on a farm not far from Saint-Tropez in Provence (southern France), because her father, singer and poet Guy Béart, did not want his children to be affected by the glamour world of Paris. ...
The best: Les Destinees, Strayed, The Witnesses, Time Regained
Noted: 8 Women
18. Penélope Cruz
Actress | Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Known outside her native country as the "Spanish enchantress", Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Madrid to Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to ...
The best: Volver, Elegy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Noted: Broken Embraces, Woman on Top, Sahara
Why? Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Nine, Gothika
19. Charlotte Gainsbourg
Actress | Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London, England in 1971. She is an Anglo-French actress and singer. The daughter of English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French songwriter, singer and actor Serge Gainsbourg, she was raised in Paris. Charlotte made her motion picture debut in 1984. In 1986, ...
The best: Anti-Christ, I'm Not There., My Wife is an Actress
Noted: 21 Grams, The Science of Sleep, 21 Grams
20. Scarlett Johansson
Actress | Lost in Translation
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her mother, Melanie Sloan is from a Jewish family from the Bronx and her father, Karsten Johansson is a Danish-born architect from Copenhagen. She has a sister, Vanessa Johansson, who is also an actress, ...
The best: Lost in Translation, Ghost World, Match Point, Girl with a Pearl Earring
Noted: Eight Legged Freaks, Scoop, The Black Dahlia, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Why: The Island, He's Just Not That Into You
21. Meryl Streep
Actress | Out of Africa
Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 21 times, and has won it three times. Meryl was born Mary Louise Streep in 1949 in Summit, New Jersey, to Mary Wolf (Wilkinson), a commercial artist, and Harry William ...
The best: Adaptation., A Prairie Home Companion, The Hours
Noted: The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia, Doubt
Why: Mama Mia!, It's Complicated
22. Marion Cotillard
Actress | La Môme
Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard was born on September 30, 1975 in Paris. Cotillard is the daughter of Jean-Claude Cotillard, an actor, playwright and director, and Niseema Theillaud, an actress and drama teacher. Her father's family is from Brittany.
Raised in Orléans, France, she ...
The best: La Vie en Rose, A Very Long Engagement
Noted: Big Fish
23. Sylvie Testud
Actress | La Môme
Sylvie Testud was born on January 17, 1971 in Lyon, Rhône, France. She is an actress and writer, known for La Vie En Rose (2007), Suspiria (2018) and Fear and Trembling (2003).
The best: The Captive, Murderous Maids, Tomorrow We Move
Noted: La Vie en Rose
24. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Actress | La pazza gioia
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was born on November 16, 1964 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. She is an actress and director, known for Like Crazy (2016), Il est plus facile pour un chameau... (2003) and Human Capital (2013).
The best: 5x2, Time to Leave, It's Easier for a Camel...
Noted: Munich, Cote D'Azur
25. Greta Gerwig
Writer | Barbie
Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut ...
The best: Hannah Takes the Stairs, Greenberg
Noted: Baghead, Nights and Weekends
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