Match the Best Actress Oscar Winners - 2000s Quiz

Answer: Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts picked up her first Academy Award for her portrayal of feisty paralegal Erin Brockovich in the film of the same name. Based on a true story, the film focused on a lawsuit against a California utility over contaminated groundwater in a small Mohave Desert town. Roberts had previously been nominated for the Best Actress award for "Pretty Woman" and for Best Supporting Actress for "Steel Magnolias".

The other nominees for the Best Actress Oscar were Joan Allen ("The Contender"), Juliette Binoche ("Chocolat"), Ellen Burstyn ("Requiem for a Dream"), and Laura Linney ("You Can Count on Me").

Answer: Halle Berry

Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar when she won the award for her role as Leticia Musgrove, the widow of a convicted murderer, in "Monster's Ball". It was her first Academy Award nomination. In the film, she unknowingly became involved with the corrections officer (Billy Bob Thornton) who oversaw her husband's execution.

The other nominees for the Best Actress category were Judi Dench ("Iris"), Nicole Kidman ("Moulin Rouge!"), Sissy Spacek ("In the Bedroom"), and Renee Zellweger ("Bridget Jones's Diary").

Answer: Nicole Kidman

At the 75th Academy Awards ceremony, Nicole Kidman won her first Oscar for portraying author Virginia Woolf in "The Hours". The film featured the stories of three women in different decades (Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore) who were connected by Woolf's novel "Mrs. Dalloway".

The prosthetic nose that Kidman wore for the role made her unrecognizable, and when Denzel Washington revealed the Oscar winner at the ceremony, he said that the award went to "by a nose, Nicole Kidman". The other nominees for the Best Actress category were Salma Hayek ("Frida"), Diane Lane ("Unfaithful"), Julianne Moore ("Far from Heaven"), and Renee Zellweger ("Chicago").

Answer: Charlize Theron

A first time nominee and winner, Charlize Theron picked up her Best Actress Oscar for portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster". The film followed the real life story of Wuornos, a prostitute who robbed and killed seven men before being caught, convicted, and executed. Like Kidman, Theron was unrecognizable, having shaved her eyebrows and gained thirty pounds for the role.

The other nominees for the Best Actress category were Diane Keaton ("Something's Gotta Give"), Samantha Morton ("In America"), Naomi Watts ("21 Grams") and thirteen-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes ("Whale Rider").

Answer: Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank picked up her second Best Actress Oscar for portraying a boxer named Maggie Fitzgerald in "Million Dollar Baby". Swank had previously won the award in 2000 for the film "Boys Don't Cry". "Million Dollar Baby" followed Fitzgerald from her initial training with a grumpy old coach (Clint Eastwood) to her eventual title fight match and the aftermath.

The other nominees for the Best Actress category were Annette Bening ("Being Julia"), Catalina Sandino Moreno ("Maria Full of Grace"), Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), and Kate Winslet ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind").

Answer: Reese Witherspoon

With her first Academy Award nomination, Reese Witherspoon picked up the Best Actress Oscar for portraying country singer June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line". The film focused on Johnny Cash's wild life from his early years until the time that June Carter agreed to marry him, with Joaquin Phoenix also snagging an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Cash.

The other nominees for the Best Actress Oscar were Judi Dench ("Mrs. Henderson Presents"), Felicity Huffman ("Transamerica"), Keira Knightley ("Pride & Prejudice"), and Charlize Theron ("North Country").

Answer: Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren was another first time winner, picking up the Best Actress Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen". She had previously been nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for "The Madness of King George" and "Gosford Park". "The Queen" centered around the British royal family and the Prime Minister in the days following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The other nominees in the Best Actress category were Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada"), and Kate Winslet ("Little Children").

Answer: Marion Cotillard

At the 80th Academy Awards ceremony, Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress award for her portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in the French film "La Vie en Rose". It was her first nomination, and she became the first French actress to win the award for a French-speaking role.

The film, which was originally called "La Mome", was a biopic on the life of Piaf, from her childhood to her premature death. The other nominees for the Best Actress Oscar were Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age"), Julie Christie ("Away from Her"), Laura Linney ("The Savages"), and Ellen Page ("Juno").

Answer: Kate Winslet

After three previous Best Actress nominations ("Titanic", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Little Children"), Kate Winslet finally picked up the award for her portrayal of a former concentration camp guard named Hanna Schmitz in "The Reader". Winslet also had two previous Best Supporting Actress nominations ("Sense and Sensibility" and "Iris"). "The Reader" followed Schmitz's story from an affair she had with a teenage boy in 1950s Berlin to her trial a decade later for war crimes and the aftermath.

The other nominees for the Best Actress Oscar were Anne Hathaway ("Rachel Getting Married"), Angelina Jolie ("Changeling"), Melissa Leo ("Frozen River"), and Meryl Streep ("Doubt").

Answer: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock picked up her first Academy Award nomination and the Oscar for Best Actress for portraying Leigh Anne Tuohy in "The Blind Side". The film was based on the true story of Michael Oher, a disadvantaged youth who was taken in by a high school football coach's family and guided towards a career in the National Football League.

The other nominees for the Best Actress award were Helen Mirren ("The Last Station"), Carey Mulligan ("An Education"), Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious"), and Meryl Streep ("Julie & Julia").