41. NICOLE KIDMAN
The Others (2001)

God bless the Kansas City film critics. Kidman got her first nomination for Moulin Rouge, but it was the attentive Midwestern collective that awarded her Best Actress honors for her quieter work in The Others, the mannered ghost story that came three months later. As a mom spooked by her own offspring, she found every corner of her character's fear with shuddering precision.