Nominees for Best Actress

Glenn Close: Glenn Close who plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland in Albert Nobbs, directed by Rodrigo García and based on a short story by Irish novelist George Moore, has been nominated five times for an Oscar, once for a BAFTA Film Award and has won three Tonys, an Obie, three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award in the past.

Viola Davis: Viola Davis who plays a middle-aged black maid who has spent her life raising white children in Tate Taylor's The Help, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel, has given powerful performances in films like Traffic (2000), Antwone Fisher (2002), Solaris (2002) and Doubt (2008) previously and also won many awards which include: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II (2001) and nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Doubt.

Rooney Mara:Rooney Mara who plays 'Lisbeth Salander' in the David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an adaptation from Stieg Larsson's Swedish-language novel by Steven Zaillian, made her acting debut in 2005 and was seen in films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Social Network.

Meryl Streep: Meryl Streep who plays the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Phyllida Lloyd directed The Iron Lady, has received 16 Academy Award nominations out of which she won two, and 26 Golden Globe nominations, winning seven. She also earned two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, five New York Film Critics Circle Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, a BAFTA award, an Australian Film Institute Award, a Tony Award nomination and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004.

Tilda Swinton: Tilda Swinton who plays the 'Eva Khatchadourian', Kevin's mother, in Lynne Ramsay's directed We Need to Talk About Kevin, which is an adaptation from Lionel Shriver's 2003 novel of the same name, has won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton and also, got nominated for a Golden Globe for her performances in The Deep End.