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Barely an Oscar ceremony goes by without Meryl Streep [8.0] shouldering her way on to some list or other. Her nomination this year for playing a scary old nun in Doubt is her 15th. In spite of being the most nominated person in both Oscars and Golden Globe history, however, she's obviously still not that popular - she has only ever collected two Oscar statuettes. Actresses playing authority figures win far less frequently than women swimming against the tide, and frequent nominees often suffer unfairly from a feeling that it's impossible to produce their best work all the time (see Martin Scorsese).

Surprisingly, this is Angelina Jolie's [13.5] first leading lady nomination (for The Changeling). Five of the last six winners played real people (Helen Mirren as the Queen, Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, Charlize Theron as Aileen Wournos, Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf and Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf). Jolie is the only actress playing a real person in this year's bunch.

This is the first nomination for both Anne Hathaway [2.92] (Rachel Getting Married) and Melissa Leo [16.5]. At 26, Hathaway is the youngest contender in this category, and only one nominee younger than Hathaway has won in this category in the last 22 years (Hilary Swank was 25 in Boys Don't Cry in 1999.)

Melissa Leo could benefit from Clint Eastwood's direction in Frozen River. He also directed Hilary Swank to the award for her performance in Million Dollar Baby in 2004. She is probably best known as a TV actress. A relative unknown hasn't won this award since Marlee Matlin in 1988 and her age, 48, is old for this category.

Kate Winslet's [2.12] nomination for The Reader is her third Best Actress nod in five years and at 33 she is the youngest person ever to have received six nominations. Bad news for Winslet's Oscar hopes, however, come as a result of her Golden Globe Best Supporting Actress award this year, which she won for The Reader (confusingly she is nominated for Best Actress for The Reader at the Oscars.) Only one actress has ever followed up a Best Supporting Globe with a Best Actress Oscar - Grace Kelly in 1954 for Mogambo and the Country Girl. And only one British actress has won this category in the last 25 years Helen Mirren in 2006.