Best Actress 2012

My top choices in the order I would place them on my Academy ballot if I were allowed to vote. In other words, these are my five favorite performances, but I acknowledge that this list is already influenced by awards buzz, and the actresses who I think need the most votes are at the top.

DEANIE IP, A Simple Life

QUVENZHANÉ WALLIS, Beasts of the Southern Wild

EMMANUELLE RIVA, Amour (Love)

RACHEL WEISZ, The Deep Blue Sea

JESSICA CHASTAIN, Zero Dark Thirty

Also loved:
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Nadezhda Markina, Elena
Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman
Naomi Watts, Lo Imposible (The Impossible)
Zhang Ziyi, Dangerous Liaisons

Related:
My Best Actress Picks for 2011
My Best Actress Picks for 2010
My Best Actress Picks for 2009
My Best Actress Picks for 2008
My Best Actress Picks for 2007