FINAL 2026 Oscar Predictions: BEST ACTRESS
That’s a wrap, folks.
In what’s been a very topsy-turvy season in the acting categories, one thing has remained steadfast and that’s Irish rose Jessie Buckley in Best Actress. The only clean sweeper this year, Buckley made history at BAFTA and SAG becoming the first Irish actress to ever win there and will make history again in less than two weeks when the Hamnet star does it at the Oscars.
Even as Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value gave chase with a European Film Award in a Cannes Grand Prize winner and Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You with the Golden Globe for musical or comedy for a film that debuted all the way back in January 2025 at Sundance, it wasn’t enough to put a dent in Buckley’s extraordinary run, accumulating nearly 40 critics’ prizes, the most for any individual this season, in a worldwide box office hit that won the Toronto International Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award among its several audience accolades.
Here are my final winner predictions in Best Actress for the 98th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 15, live at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California.
| 1. Jessie Buckley in Hamnet (Focus Features) | BAFTA, CCA, GG, SAG |
| 2. Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value (NEON) | BAFTA, CCA, GG |
| 3. Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24) | BAFTA, CCA, GG , SAG |
| 4. Emma Stone in Bugonia (Focus Features) | BAFTA, CCA, GG, SAG |
| 5. Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue (Focus Features) | BAFTA, GG, SAG |
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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