2011 Academy Awards Nominees: Supporting Actress

1. Amy Adams in "The Fighter,"

Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous. After a series of television guest appearances and roles in B movies, she landed the role of Brenda Strong in 2002's Catch Me If You Can, but her breakthrough role was in the 2005 independent film Junebug, playing Ashley Johnsten, for which she received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Adams subsequently starred in Disney's 2007 film Enchanted, a critical and commercial success, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Princess Giselle. She received her second Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations the following year for her role as a young nun, Sister James, in Doubt. Though she has appeared in a range of dramatic and comedic roles, Adams has gained a reputation for playing characters with cheerful and sunny dispositions. Adams starred in Sunshine Cleaning with Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin, and the following year appeared as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. She appeared in Julie & Julia in 2009 portraying writer Julie Powell followed by Leap Year in 2010. Her recent role as Charlene Fleming in The Fighter earned Adams her third Academy Award nomination, her third Golden Globe Award, second BAFTA Award, and fourth Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

2. Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech,"

Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is a British actress. Bonham Carter made her film debut in the K. M. Peyton film, A Pattern of Roses, before appearing in her first leading role in Lady Jane. She is known for her portrayals of Lucy Honeychurch in the film A Room with a View, Marla Singer in the film Fight Club, Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter film series, her BAFTA-nominated performance as Enid Blyton in Enid, her portrayal of the Red Queen in the new Alice in Wonderland, her Golden Globe-nominated performance as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as her other collaborations with Tim Burton, her domestic partner since 2001. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her roles as Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove and as Queen Elizabeth in the 2010 film The King's Speech, along with winning a BAFTA in 2011 for The King's Speech.

3. Melissa Leo in "The Fighter," 

Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960), also known as Margaret May II or Margaret May, is an American actress known for playing Det. Sgt. Kay Howard as a series regular on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993–1997. As of 2011, she is on the television series Treme, having previously been a regular on All My Children and The Young Riders. Her feature films include A Time of Destiny, Last Summer in the Hamptons, 21 Grams, Confess, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. In 2009, she received an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her role in Frozen River. She received her second Oscar nomination in 2011, for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Fighter. Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer hailed her as "one of America's most underrated character actresses"

4. Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit," 

Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress who played the role of Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers' 2010 adaptation of True Grit, for which she has received an Academy Award nomination

Steinfeld was born in Tarzana, Los Angeles, the daughter of Cheri, an interior designer, and Peter Steinfeld, a personal fitness trainer. She has an older brother, Griffin, and her uncle is fitness trainer Jake Steinfeld. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of mixed white, Filipino and black ancestry.Steinfeld was raised in Agoura Hills and later in Thousand Oaks, California, attending Ascension Lutheran School, Conejo Elementary, and Colina Middle School. She has been home-schooled since c. 2008

5. Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"

Jacqueline Ruth "Jacki" Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. She is best known outside Australia for her performance in Animal Kingdom, for which she was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Weaver was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Her father, Arthur, was a Sydney solicitor, and her mother, Edith (née Simpson), a migrant from northern England. She attended Hornsby Girls' High School.Weaver has won three Australian Film Institute awards and a National Board of Review award for her role in Animal Kingdom. Weaver also won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role.