My Take: The 70 Best Screen Actresses of Our Time

THE TOP 10: 

1. Charlize Theron

North Country, 2005 

• Best Actress Academy Award for Monster, the greatest performance of any actor ever produced in film history.
• Other legendary preformances in: North Country, The Cider House Rules, The Astronaut's Wife, Young Adult, In the Valley of Elah, The Road, The Devil's Advocate, & That Thing You Do 

2. Halle Berry

Monster's Ball, 2001 

• In what is regarded by many to be the greatest performance ever given, Halle Berry earned the first Best Actress Oscar for a women of color in Monster's Ball.
• Other legendary performances in: Introducing Dorthy Dandridge, Things We Lost in the Fire, Frankie & Alice & Their Eyes Were Watching God 

3. Meryl Streep

Sophie's Choice, 1982 

• Considered by film critics worldwide to be the very best, the performance of Streep's that impressed me most was hers in Sophie's Choice. She just does not stop producing the hits. She's got more oscar nominations than any actress, ever, and has won 3. 
• Other legendary performances in: Out of Africa, Kramer vs. Kramer, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Deer Hunger, Silkwood, The Iron Lady, Julie and Julia, Doubt, The Devil Wears Prada, Adaptation, The Manchurian Candidate, Death Becomes Her, Defending Your Life, The Hours, Manhattan, Music of the Heart, One True Thing, The Bridges of Madison County, Postcards from the Edge, A Cry in the Dark, & Ironweed
• Why she's not my #1: I want to fall for the cliche, but I go for quality over quantity. Still, I think the two actresses above are the only two better than Meryl. 

4. Kathy Bates

Revolutionary Road, 2006

• Won the Oscar for the second-best single performance given by an actress (Best Actress for Misery in 1991). Bates is insanely versatile, with her deserved Oscar nods. She is one of the best of the very best. 
• Other legendary performances in:  About Schmidt, Primary Colors, Annie, Six Feet Under, Deolores Claiborne, The Late Shift, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Family that Preys, Hostages, Harry's Law, Revolutionary Road, A Home of Our Own, & Titanic

5. Viola Davis

Doubt, 2008

• There is no actress more commanding than the legend herself, Viola Davis. Her ability to grip the audience is second to none. As an actress in over 60 films, many of which I have loved her performances in so much, she has proven herself as one of the finest female actors in American history. It is hard to pick just one, but of course, her performance in Doubt will never be forgotten.    
• Other legendary performances in:  The Help, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Solaris, Antwone Fisher, Far From Heaven & Won't Back Down

6. Angela Bassett

Waiting to Exhale, 1995

• Angela Basset received her first oscar nomination all the way back in 1993. Since then, her performances is countless films have touched the hearts of millions. The queen is still going strong at 55, Basset won me over with her incredible performance in the classic Akeelah and the Bee.   
• Other legendary performances in: Malcom X, What's Love Got to Do with It, Strange Days, Notorious, The Rosa Parks Story, The Score, Boesman and Lena, Sunshine State, Music of the Heart, Contact, Waiting to Exhale & How Stella Got Her Groove Back

7. Jessica Chastain

Take Shelter, 2011

• Phenomenal in every role she has ever played, Jessica Chastain embodies her characters flawlessly. Her versatility is immense, playing everything from a giddy housewife to an FBI agent. She was best of all as a key part in my favorite film of all time, The Tree of Life.    
• Other legendary performances in: Take Shelter, The Debt, The Help, Texas Killing Fields, Coriolanus & Jolene

8. Bryce Dallas Howard

The Village, 2004

• Nobody is better at being scared than the beautiful and remarkably talented Bryce Dallas Howard. Her performance in The Village was nothing short of spectacular.
• Other legendary performances in: The Help, As You Like It, 50/50, Lady in the Water, & Manderlay

9. Marcia Gay Harden 

Mystic River, 2003

• She can play a crazy person, a concerned parent, a person with something to hide...and no matter what she plays she's not only believable but unbelievable! It never feels like acting, but like documentary. One of the finest actresses not only of our time, but of all time. 
• Legendary performances in: Into the Wild, The Mist, Polluck, Used People, The Corageous Heart of Irena Sendler, American Gun, The First Wives Club, King of Texas & Mystic River 

10. Regina King

Ray, 2004

She may very well be TV's biggest star as the lead lady in TNT's award-winning Southland, but to me, Regina King will always be one of the Top 10 greatest screen actresses of our time. Her performance in Ray remains one of the best supporting performances I've ever seen. 

• Legendary performances in: Jerry Maguire, Enemy of the State, Down to Earth, Love and Action in Chicago, 227, Southland 

11. Susan Sarandon, top notch in Step Mom 

12. Diane Lane, top notch in Unfaithful
13. Helen Mirren, top notch in The Queen
14. Sissy Spacek, top notch in In the Bedroom
15. Julianne Moore, top notch in The Kids Are All Right 
16. Niamoi Watts, top notch in 21 Grams 
17. Helen Hunt, top notch in Pay it Forward 
18. Julia Roberts, top notch in Erin Brockovich 
19. Frances McDormand, top notch in  North Country
20. Emily Mortimer, top notch in Dear Frankie
21. Tilda Swinton, top notch in We Need to Talk About Kevin
22. Natalie Portman, top notch in Black Swan
23. Mo'Nique, top notch in Precious
24. Michelle Williams, top notch in Blue Valentine
25. Kerry Washington, top notch in Ray
26. Ashley Judd, top notch in Bug
27. Patricia Clarkson, top notch in Shutter Island 
28. Queen Latifah, , top notch in Chicago 

29. Maggie Gyllenhaal, top notch in World Trade Center
30. Kate Winslet, top notch in Revolutionary Road 

31. Sophie Okonedo, top notch in Hotel Rwanda

32. Elizabeth Olsen, top notch in Martha Marcy May Marlene

33. Zoe Kazan, top notch in HappyThankYouMorePlease
34. Juliette Lewis, top notch in Cape Fear

35. Ellen Burstyn, top notch in Requiem for a Dream
36. Jennifer Hudson, top notch in Dreamgirls
37. Marisa Tomei, top notch in The Wrestler 
38. Catherine Keener, top notch in Into the Wild
39. Annette Bening, top notch in The Kids Are All Right

40. Samantha Morton, top notch in In America 

41. Melissa Leo, top notch in The Fighter 

42. Sharon Warren,  top notch in Ray

43. Carey Mulligan, top notch in Never Let Me Go

44. Vanessa Williams, top notch in Light it Up
45. Alfre Woodard, top notch in Cross Creek

46. Imelda Staunton, top notch in Vera Drake
47. Emma Thompson, top notch in Howard's End
48. Hilary Swank, top notch in Million Dollar Baby

49. Ruby Dee, top notch in American Gangster
50. Glenn Close, top notch in Albert Nobbs

50. Demi Moore, top notch in Bobby 
51. Octavia Spencer, top notch in The Help 
52. Sandra Bullock, top notch in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 
53. Brittany Murphy, top notch in The Dead Girl  
54. Gwyneth Paltrow, top notch in Two Lovers
55. Maria Bello, top notch in World Trade Center
56. Toni Colette, top notch in Little Miss Sunshine  
57. Thandie Newton, top notch in Crash 
58. Rosario Dawson, top notch in Seven Pounds   
59. Nicole Kidman, top notch in The Others  
60. Gabourey Sidibe, top notch in Precious 
61. Laura Linney, top notch in Kinsey
62. Felicity Huffman, , top notch in Transamerican
63. Amy Adams, top notch in The Fighter 
64. Jennifer Lopez, top notch in Selena
65. Jada Pinkett Smith, top notch in Ali 
66. Rachel Weisz, top notch in The Constant Gardener 
67. Cameron Diaz, top notch in Gangs of New York (Not an actress I enjoy, but in the few films she is well cast in, she's superb and has earned her nominations. Take for instance, Vanilla Sky or Being John Malkovich.) 
68. Sarah Steele, top notch in Spanglish 
69. Jennifer Connelly, top notch in A Beautiful Mind
70. Uma Thurman, top notch in Pulp Fiction 


Also:
71. Julia Garner, top notch in Martha Marcy May Marlene (She will be huge in a couple years. I'd bet money on it. She's incredible, as are the other 70 women.)


Thanks for reading! :)

And the 15 most overrated actresses of our time:

1. Cate Blanchett 
2. Sharon Stone
3. Whoopi Goldberg 
4. Renee Zellweger
5. Helena Bonham Carter
6. Penélope Cruz
7. Anna Pacquin 
8. Andie MacDowell
9. Debra Messing 
10. Holly Hunter
11. Michelle Pfeiffer
12. Evan Rachel Wood 
13. Angelina Jolie
14. Scarlett Johansen 
15. Kirsten Dunst