80th Academy Awards Oscar Nominations 2008 - Best Actress
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
This is Cate Blanchett's fifth nomination and the second in this category.
She was also nominated for her leading role in Elizabeth (1998). Her supporting role nominations were for The Aviator (2004), for which
she won the Oscar, and Notes on a Scandal (2006). She is also nominated this year in the supporting category for I’m Not There.
Since graduating from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), CATE
BLANCHETT (Elizabeth) has worked extensively in the theater, significantly with Company B,
a loose ensemble of actors (including Geoffrey Rush, Gillian Jones and Richard Roxburgh)
based at Belvoir Street, under the direction of Neil Armfield. Her roles have included Miranda
(The Tempest), Ophelia (Hamlet – for which she was nominated for a Green Room Award), Nina
(The Seagull) and Rose (The Blind Giant Is Dancing).
For the Sydney Theater Company (STC), she appeared in Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, David
Mamet’s Oleanna (awarded The Sydney Theater Critics Award for Best Actress), Michael
Gow’s Sweet Phoebe (also for the Croyden Warehouse, London) and Timothy Daly’s Kafka
Dances (also for The Griffin Theatre Company, for which she received the Critics Circle award
for best newcomer).
For the Almeida Theatre in 1999, Cate played Susan Traherne in David Hare’s Plenty on
London’s West End.
Her television credits include lead roles in Bordertown and Heartland, both for the Australian
Broadcasting Commission.
Her film roles include Susan Macarthy in Bruce Beresford’s Paradise Road; Lizzie in Thank
God He Met Lizzie, an anti-romantic comedy directed by Cherie Nowlan, for which Cate was
awarded both the Australian Film Institute (AFI) and the Sydney Film Critics awards for Best
Supporting Actress; and Lucinda in Oscar and Lucinda, opposite Ralph Fiennes and directed by
Gillian Armstrong, a role that earned her an AFI nomination for Best Actress.
In 1998, Cate portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in the critically acclaimed Elizabeth, directed by
Shekhar Kapur, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and a
BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as Best Actress Awards from the Chicago
Film Critics Association, the London Film Critics Circle, the Toronto Film Critics Association,
the Online Film Critics, Variety Critics and the U.K. Empire Award. She also received a Best
Actress nomination from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences.
In 1999, Cate appeared in Pushing Tin with John Cusack, a black comedy about air traffic
controllers directed by Mike Newell; An Ideal Husband, directed by Oliver Parker; and The
Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by Anthony Minghella, for which she received a BAFTA
nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Cate also starred in The Gift, directed by Sam Raimi,
and in Sally Potter’s The Man Who Cried, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and for
which Cate was awarded Best Supporting Actress by the National Board of Review and the
Florida Film Critics Circle.
In 200l, Cate appeared in Bandits with Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, directed by Barry
Levinson, for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild
nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Cate has also appeared in The Shipping News,
alongside Kevin Spacey and directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the 1994 Pulitzer Prizewinning
novel by E. Annie Proulx. She was also seen as Galadriel, Queen of the Elves, in The
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy,
based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels. Cate was honored by the National Board of Review as
the 2001 Best Supporting Actress for her outstanding supporting performances in Bandits, The
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Shipping News. She reprised her role as
Galadriel in 2002 for the second installment of the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers, and again in 2003 in the final installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the
King.
In 2002, Cate was also seen in the title role of Charlotte Gray, directed by Gillian Armstrong and
based on Sebastian Faulks’ best-selling novel. Cate also appeared in Heaven, opposite Giovanni
Ribisi and directed by Tom Tykwer, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival (where the film
was awarded the Golden Camera Award).
In 2003, Cate was seen in Veronica Guerin, the fact-based story of the Irish journalist who was
slain in her homeland in 1996 by drug dealers, which was directed by Joel Schumacher. Her
performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Best Performance by an
Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and a nomination by the Washington, D.C. Area Film
Critics Association for Best Actress. She also starred in the Columbia Pictures’ thriller The
Missing, opposite Tommy Lee Jones for director Ron Howard; the film was released in
November 2003.
In early 2004, Cate appeared in the film Coffee & Cigarettes for director Jim Jarmusch. In this
United Artists release, Cate played two roles opposite each other – herself and the role of her
cousin. Her performances earned her a Best Supporting Female nomination for the 2005
Independent Spirit Awards.
In July 2004, Cate returned to the Sydney Theatre Company to play the title role in Andrew
Upton’s adaptation of Hedda Gabler. The play was a critical success, earning her the prestigious
Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play. She also starred in her first Australian film in
several years, Little Fish, directed by Rowan Woods, for which she was awarded Best Actress by
the Australian Film Institute.
Cate received an Academy Award® for her portrayal as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator,
directed by Martin Scorsese. She was also honored with the BAFTA Award and a SAG Award
for her role in the 2005 release. Additionally, she was recognized by several critics’
organizations and received a nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
In 2006 Cate was seen in Babel, opposite Brad Pitt, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
The film received a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for numerous awards, including an
Academy Award® and a SAG Ensemble Award. Cate was also seen in The Good German, costarring
with George Clooney, directed by Steven Soderbergh. She received a Golden Globe
nomination, a SAG nomination and an Academy Award® nomination for Notes on a Scandal,
opposite Judi Dench. Also in 2006, Cate and her husband, Andrew Upton, were named codirectors
of the Sydney Theatre Company. Their debut season begins in 2009.
Cate is currently in production on the fourth installment of Indiana Jones, with Harrison Ford,
directed by Steven Spielberg. Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There will be released on November 21 of
this year. Cate has also completed production on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, costarring
Brad Pitt and directed by David Fincher, a 2008 release.
80th Academy Awards Oscar Nominations 2008
Best Picture
Best Animated Feature
Best Actress
Best Actor
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