Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind)

Jennifer Connelly ran away with this category early, collecting a few Best Actress votes at the same time. It's amazing to look at the course her career has run; coronation at the Oscars is all but assured for this classic beauty. Carrie-Anne Moss and Cameron Diaz tie for second place here. I've perhaps said enough about Carrie's subtle performance in the FYC section. Cameron Diaz has been making a very good career lately out of playing wildly against type for an actress of her beauty, here playing an unhinged stalker of Tom Cruise's character in Vanilla Sky. We had a virtual tie for fourth place between two distinguished ladies from Gosford Park, with Helen Mirren's stoic servant just edging out the ascerbic Maggie Smith despite the latter receiving more first place votes.

Top Five
Actress	Film	Total Points
Jennifer Connelly	A Beautiful Mind	204
Carrie-Anne Moss	Memento	113
Cameron Diaz	Vanilla Sky	113
Helen Mirren	Gosford Park	94
Maggie Smith	Gosford Park	93

Candidates receiving first place votes
Actress	Film	Number of First Place Votes
Jennifer Connelly	A Beautiful Mind	6
Maggie Smith	Gosford Park	3
Anjelica Huston	The Royal Tenenbaums	3
Emma Watson	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	3
Helen Mirren	Gosford Park	2
Carrie-Anne Moss	Memento	1
Cameron Diaz	Vanilla Sky	1
Cate Blanchett	Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	1
Alakina Mann	The Others	1

Other actresses receiving votes
Fionnula Flanagan (The Others), Miriam Shor (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Gwyneth Paltrow (The Royal Tenenbaums), Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive), Liv Tyler (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Frances O'Connor (A.I. Artificial Intelligence), Frances McDormand (The Man Who Wasn't There), Scarlett Johansson (The Man Who Wasn't There, Ghost World), Kerry Armstrong (Lantana), Marissa Tomei (In the Bedroom), Bridget Fonda (Kiss of the Dragon), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Harley Quinn Smith (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Zhang Ziyi (Rush Hour 2), Pat Carroll (Songcatcher), Brittany Murphy (Don't Say a Word, Sidewalks of New York), Kelly MacDonald (Gosford Park), Barbara Hershey (Lantana), Julianne Moore (The Shipping News), Hélène de Fougerall (Va Savoir), Franka Potente (Blow), Marisa Paredes (The Devil's Backbone), Penélope Cruz (Vanilla Sky), Hope Davis (Hearts in Atlantis), Uma Thurman (Tape), Eliza Dushku (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), Amanda Peet (Saving Silverman), Julia Stiles (The Business of Strangers)