The nomination marks Portman’s third Oscar nod. The fact that she won Best Actress in 2010 for Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” may weigh against another win this year.
She recently revealed about the challenges of nailing Kennedy’s peculiar accent and controlled emotions during an intensely isolated rite of passage.
Incidentally, Meryl Streep is already in the running for a record 20th nomination for channeling the hilariously entertaining tone-deaf opera singer and the title character in Stephen Frears’ “Florence Foster Jenkins” before her rousing Cecil B. DeMille Award acceptance speech at the Golden Globes.
But her surging popularity made another nomination for the three-time Oscar-winner a certainty. Streep won the Critics Choice Comedy Actress award, and also scored SAG and BAFTA nominations.
And then there is Ruth Negga, who is certainly this year’s breakout contender in the Best Actress race. Not only is the biracial Irish actress tearing up the small screen as the badass Tulip in AMC’s “Preacher,” but her first major role on the big screen earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Under the direction of Jeff Nichols, Negga delivers a refined portrayal of a woman in “Loving” battling race laws to live in peace with her husband and their children. She also earned Critics Choice, Globe, and BAFTA rising star nominations.