A look at the best actress nominees for the 88th Academy Awards, announced on 14 January 2016.
Image copyright StudioCanalCATE BLANCHETT
Age: 46
Nominated for: Carol
The character: Carol Aird, a glamorous older woman going through a difficult divorce who begins an affair with a young aspiring photographer.
Oscar record: Won best supporting actress for The Aviator in 2005 and best actress for Blue Jasmine in 2014. Two best actress nominations for Elizabeth in 1999 and Elizabeth: The Golden Age in 2008. Two best supporting actress nominations for Notes on a Scandal in 2007 and I'm Not There in 2008.
The critics said: "Carol ultimately belongs to Blanchett, and rightly so... As searing as [she] was in her Oscar-winning turn in Blue Jasmine, she arguably achieves something even deeper here by acting in a much quieter, more underplayed register." [Variety]
Image copyright StudioCanalBRIE LARSON
Age: 26
Nominated for: Room
The character: Joy, aka "Ma", a woman abducted and held captive in a room with only her young son for company.
Oscar record: No previous nominations.
The critics said: "Larson has been threatening for years to truly break out, and Room should be the film to make it happen. She's so raw as to verge on unwatchable, the pain she conveys just too upsetting to sit with." [Empire]
Image copyright FoxJENNIFER LAWRENCE
Age: 25
Nominated for: Joy
The character: Joy, a divorced single mother who seeks to change her circumstances by inventing and marketing a revolutionary new mop.
Oscar record: Won best actress for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013. Best actress nomination for Winter's Bone in 2011. Best supporting actress nomination for American Hustle in 2014.
The critics said: "Lawrence has played larger-than-life characters in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, but in Joy she's dialled down appreciably, playing a woman who once considered herself special but has been systematically beaten down by adulthood enough to believe that her creative spark has died." [Screen Daily]
Image copyright Curzon Artificial EyeCHARLOTTE RAMPLING
Age: 69
Nominated for: 45 Years
The character: Kate Mercer, a married woman who learns shattering news about her husband just as they are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.
The critics said: "Rampling... is a symphony of physical cries and whispers, her worried eyes and strained smiles choreographed with breath-taking precision." [The Guardian]
Image copyright LionsgateSAOIRSE RONAN
Age: 21
Nominated for: Brooklyn
The character: Eilis Lacey, a young woman from rural Ireland who leaves her home to find job opportunities in the US in the 1950s.
