Top 10 Favorite Actresses:

1:   Kate Winslet.  I’m not going to lie – having my name in the title of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind set me up to like the movie.  Whatever my reasons, this is still one of my favorite Winslet roles.  No matter what character she’s playing, though, I’ve always found her relatable.  (Yes, that includes Divergent…don’t judge me.)
2:   Tatiana Maslany.  I got into Orphan Black around the middle of the second season. Holy crap.  How one actress can play such vastly different characters so convincingly – often having to fake act with herself – is beyond me.  Somehow she can play one clone who’s pretending to be another clone, and you still know which one she really is because of subtle mannerisms or facial changes or whatever that she brings to each.  Amazing.
3:   Angelina Jolie.  I’m always torn with the whole “pretty actress” thing because I think a lot of them coast on their looks.  But the emotion that Jolie can bring to life on screen really is respectable.  And I also respect the roles she chooses, often political, often stories that might not get attention if she wasn’t involved.
4:   Meryl Streep.  Cuz she’s MERYL STREEP.
5:   Emma Stone.  If she’s in a movie, at some point I’m probably going to laugh.
6:   Cate Blanchett.  Something about seeing her face on the screen immediately makes me pay attention.  She’s captivating.
7:  Katharine Hepburn.  When I first started watching old movies with any kind of commitment, I started with a lot of the other Hepburn.  Audrey is fine, I like her work, but she was always a little too proper and girly for me.  Then I found The Philadelphia Story and Katharine H., and suddenly here was a tomboy smartass I could identify with.  She had a sort of ease about her onscreen that draws me in.
8:  Maggie Smith.   I can’t think of any character she’s played that I haven’t liked.  And I might enjoy her character on Downton Abbey a little too much, because blunt delivery of opinion is probably how I’m going to be if I make it to old age….if my grandmother is any indication.
9:   Marion Cotillard.  She’s just lovely.  My first exposure to her was Big Fish, but I didn’t realize that until Inception, when I looked her up and decided I was a fan.  Then Midnight in Paris… The Dark Knight Rises… And I’m looking forward to MacBeth.
10: Laura Linney.  Often when I find myself liking a character and not thinking about “oh, it’s the actress from THIS or THAT,” it’s Laura Linney.  She’s just consistently good without being overly attention-stealing or flashy.

(On any given day when my tastes are slightly different, switch up with Myrna Loy, Keira Knightley, Octavia Spencer,  Jamie Lee Curtis, Judi Dench, Jessica Chastain…)

Anybody have their own list?   Comment below!