Top Ten List: Best Actress 2011

10. Michelle Williams for Meek's Cutoff - Williams gave two great performances last year, the first of which was as a strong, silent pioneer woman in the visually stunning but ultimately flawed Meek's Cutoff. Her performance is largely in her eyes and expressions and she is flawless as usual.

09. Emma Stone for The Help - Emma proves she's not just a one hit wonder with Easy A by starring in one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It's also, arguably, the best acting ensemble of the year and she holds her own with a bevy of wonderfully talented women.

08. Saoirse Ronan for Hanna - 2011 was a great year for younger actors and actresses, with Ronan as a huge standout. She is going to be a huge star and her performance as the deadly child assassin, who has no idea what the radio is and only really wants to kiss a boy, is mesmerizing.

07. Elle Fanning for Super 8 - Another young actress that is talented beyond her years, Fanning is amazing as the wannabe actress who causes all the boys in the neighborhood to fall in love. She's also acting within her acting here, and it's simply a joy to watch.

06. Viola Davis for The Help - Another amazing, layered performance in The Help, this time Davis as a maid who has recently lost her only child and wants nothing more than to keep tending to the white child of the family she works for. Davis will most likely be nominated for an Oscar in a few weeks for her great performance.

05. Carey Mulligan for Drive - Ryan Gosling isn't the only one who smolders in drive. Carey Mulligan, as the object of his affection, is pretty damn great too. She plays a young, working mother who is caught between her deadly neighbor and her baby daddy, just released from prison.

04. Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids - Bridesmaids is the one movie that gives The Help a run for its money in the best ensemble category. It's also the funniest movie of the year and that is thanks to its star (and co-writer) Kristin Wiig. Anyone who has ever watched SNL knows that Wiig is funny but here she is also deeply touching and sympathetic. Also, I probably related to her character more than any other in the entire 2011 movie season.

03. Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I still think I prefer Noomi Rapace - the original girl with the dragon tattoo - but Mara, who was practically a nobody before this role, was definitely the right choice for Lisbeth. She is sensational as the tough, empowering computer hacker. With her tattoos and mohawk and black clothes, she's an unlikely but understandable female heroine.

02. Charlize Theron for Young Adult - I very nearly almost gave Theron the top spot on this list. She's the best she's ever been (yes, better than her Oscar winning role in Monster) as Mavis Gary, a very likely mentally ill failing Young Adult writer who goes back to her hometown to steal her high school boyfriend who is married with a newborn baby. Likeable?? Not at all. Hilarious?? Totally.

01. Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn - Ultimately, the top spot had to go to future Oscar winner (yes, as in, in less than two months) Michelle Williams who doesn't just play or portray or impersonate Marilyn Monroe... she becomes her, right down to her wiggle and her breathy voice and her seductive everything. She's perfection in every single way. If she doesn't win an Oscar in February than something is very, very wrong in Hollywood!