Curated playlist

Best Female Lead Independent Spirit Award winners

Cate BlanchettCate Blanchett once played thirteen different characters in a single artwork. The piece was Manifesto, a multi-screen video installation by Julian Rosefeldt. Twelve artist manifestos are performed in it, and every voice belongs to her.…
Jennifer LawrenceJennifer Lawrence was 14 years old and on a family vacation in New York City when a talent scout spotted her on the street. The scout arranged for her to audition for talent agents, and that detour set the course of her life. Today she is…
Natalie PortmanNatalie Portman turned down a $2,000,000 prize in 2018. She skipped the Genesis Prize ceremony, and it was canceled.
Carey MulliganCarey Mulligan was sixteen when she wrote a letter to Kenneth Branagh. She had seen him perform in a production, and his presence on stage left her certain about what she wanted from life. In her letter she asked for his advice. The reply…
Brie LarsonBrie Larson's 2005 album Finally Out of P.E. sold only 3,500 copies. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Julie ChristieJulie Christie turned down roles that won other actresses Oscar nominations. She also retreated to a farm in Wales.
Michelle Williams (actress)Michelle Williams, the American actress, was paid $1,000 for reshooting an entire film role. In late 2017, a month before All the Money in the World reached cinemas, Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct. He had been playing the…
Glenn CloseGlenn Close has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and has never won one. No other actress has been nominated so many times without a win. Her shelf is hardly empty, though. She has three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards and…
Charlize TheronCharlize Theron landed in Los Angeles in 1994 on a one-way ticket her mother had bought, carrying a budget of $300. She lived in a motel and went from paycheck to paycheck. At one point she took bread from a restaurant basket to get by.…
Elliot PageOn the 1st of December 2020, the Canadian actor Elliot Page announced on social media that he is a trans man. He shared his new name, Elliot, and said his pronouns were he and they. The post carried weight because its author had been in…
Renée ZellwegerRenée Zellweger was in the bathroom when her name was called at the Golden Globes for Nurse Betty. The man reading the winner's name was Hugh Grant, who would soon become her co-star. She later protested, "I had lipstick on my teeth!" Born…
Jodie FosterJodie Foster was a teenager when she acted as a French interpreter at a press conference during the Cannes Film Festival. The film was Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d'Or that year, and the journalists in the room came away impressed. By…