Potential 2020 Oscar Nomination Stats: BEST ACTRESS

Each year of Oscar nominations brings with it the possibility of breaking records, making history, extending history, moving people around in all-time rankings or just some fun statistics to carry us through. In this four-part series, I’ll detail some possible stats that could arise with the 2020 Oscar nominations in all four acting categories. First was Best Actor. Next up, Best Actress.

If Awkwafina is nominated:

-She’ll be the first Asian American nominated ever in this category.

-She’ll be the second actress nominated in this category with full Asian background after Merle Oberon in 1936 (third if you include Natalie Portman for Israel’s geographical position).

-She’ll be the second actress nominated for a performance (partially) spoken in a no Western World / European language (Mandarin Chinese), after 2018’s Yalitza Aparicio (Mixtec).

-If there’s a combination between Awkwafina or Erivo and her, this would be the second time a Best Actress lineup has two WOC actresses after 1972’s Diana Ross and Cicely Tyson.

-If Erivo, Awkwafina and Nyong’o are nominated together, it would be the first time an acting lineup in this category has three WOC nominees and historically the second female one after 2016’s supporting category with Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer.

If Ana de Armas is nominated:

-She’ll be the fifth actress born and raised in Latin America after Brazil’s Fernanda Montenegro (1998), Colombia’s Catalina Sandino Moreno (2004) and Mexico’s Salma Hayek and Yalitza Aparicio (2002 and 2018).

-She’ll be the first actress from Cuba nominated for an Oscar and second overall after Andy Garcia in 1990.

If Cynthia Erivo is nominated:

-She’ll be the first Black British actress nominated in this category and generally the fourth one after 1996’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste, 2004’s Sophie Okonedo and 2016’s Naomie Harris.

-She’ll be the second European black European actress nominated here after 2016’s Ruth Negga (Irish citizen).

-She may be the third consecutive woman nominated as actress and songwriter at the same year for the same film after Mary J. Blige and Lady Gaga.

-If there’s a combination between Awkwafina or Erivo and her, this would be the second time a Best Actress lineup has two WOC actresses after 1972’s Diana Ross and Cicely Tyson.

-If Erivo, Awkwafina and Nyong’o are nominated together, it would be the first time an acting lineup in this category has three WOC nominees and historically the second female one after 2016’s supporting category with Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer.

If Scarlett Johansson is nominated:

-She’ll be the second Danish citizen (key word: citizen) to be nominated after Viggo Mortensen.

-She’ll be the first person to go from zero nominations to two in a single year (if she’s nominated in supporting as well) since Jamie Foxx with 2004’s Ray and Collateral.

-She’ll be the seventh main Avenger to get an Oscar nom after Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Brie Larson.

-We’ll have the entire 1980s decade with female acting nominees in every year (Johansson was born in 1984). The current list is: 1980 – Michelle Williams; 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Natalie Portman, Rinko Kikuchi, Jennifer Hudson; 1982 – Anna Paquin, Anne Hathaway; 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, Lupita Nyong’o, Felicity Jones, Ruth Negga; 1985 – Keira Knightley, Anna Kendrick, Rooney Mara; 1986 – Lady Gaga; 1987 – Ellen Page; 1988 – Emma Stone, Alicia Vikander; 1989 – Brie Larson.

If Lupita Nyong’o is nominated:

-She’ll be the third leading actress nominee born in Mexico after Salma Hayek and Yalitza Aparicio.

-She’ll be the second Black actress having a sophomore nom after winning on her first. The first one was 2016’s Octavia Spencer.

-She’ll be the second Black African actress (Kenyan citizen) nominated in Lead after 2016’s Ruth Negga (She was born in Ethiopia).

-She’ll be the first Black actor to be nominated again after winning for a debut performance.

-If there’s a combination between Awkwafina or Erivo and her, this would be the second time a Best Actress lineup has two WOC actresses after 1972’s Diana Ross and Cicely Tyson.

-If Erivo, Awkwafina and Nyong’o are nominated together, it would be the first time an acting lineup in this category has three WOC nominees and historically the second female one after 2016’s supporting category with Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer.

-If Theron and her are nominated, this would be the first time ever two African actresses were nominated together.

If Saoirse Ronan is nominated:

-She’ll be the second actress to get four nominations at 25 years old after Jennifer Lawrence.

-She’ll break her own record as being the Irish thespian with the most Oscar nominations.

-The character of Jo March will join this list of fictional and non-fictional characters with multiple actors being nominated: Queen Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench), Cyrano de Bergerac (Jose Ferrer and Gerard Depardieu) and Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro).

If Charlize Theron is nominated:

-She’ll be the sole African born actor with the most Oscar noms at three, beating Basil Rathbone at two (as Theron has).

-It will be 16 years between her first Oscar nom and this potential third nom. 14 if you go for the second nom.

-If Nyong’o and her are nominated, this would be the first time ever two African actresses were nominated together.

If Renée Zellweger is nominated:

-She’ll be the second Texas actress with most nominations just behind Sissy Spacek at four.

-If you count only lead nominations, she’ll be tied with Joan Crawford.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) 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.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• Predictions for 2024 National Board of Review (NBR) and AFI’s Top 10 - December 3, 2024
• Interview: Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin on Finding Freedom, Family and Hope in ‘Sing Sing’ - December 3, 2024
• 2024 New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC): ‘The Brutalist’ Wins Best Film, Carol Kane Surprises in Supporting Actress - December 3, 2024