Australian actress Cate Blanchett has a prolific career and an impressive resume under her belt. The beginning of her career marked an immeasurable talent for embodying the characters that she set out to portray. Her first role in a movie was in an Egyptian film called Kaboria; Blanchett was studying abroad in Cairo and needed money, so she agreed to play an American cheerleader. When she returned to Australia and continued studying drama, she made a name for herself in the local theater communities. She made her debut in the feature film Paradise Road, alongside Glenn Close and Frances McDormand, where she played an Australian nurse in World War II.
Updated November 15th, 2022: If you are here for Cate Blanchett and all of her outstanding work, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with new entries.
Since then, Blanchett has demonstrated a knack for playing complicated female characters, transforming weaker characters into leading ladies. Not even two years after she first appeared in a movie, she was nominated for an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Elizabeth in 1999. From her character in Lord of the Rings to Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, she's done it all. Her skill and wide range allow her to play women from all walks of life, and sometimes she switches from heroine to villain in the stories she represents. These are her best performances, ranked.
11 The Lord of the Rings (film series)
In one of the greatest and most influential film series ever made, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings (2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002’s The Two Towers, and 2003’s The Return of the King), Blanchett portrays angelic Galadriel. Playing the most mighty and beautiful elf in Middle-earth, the actress perfectly combines strength and tenderness. Blanchett did such a great job on The Lord of the Rings that Peter Jackson include her character in the trilogy's prequel, The Hobbit, despite Galadriel not being in that part of Tolkien's epic fantasy.
10 Notes on a Scandal
Based on Zoë Heller’s novel of the same name that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, 2006’s Notes on a Scandal is a sharp, psychosexual tour de force. The film stars Blanchett and Judi Dench as teachers in a public London school who form a sordid relationship that becomes more and more sinister. Blanchett’s character Sheba Hart is a younger art teacher who is having an affair with an underage student. A lonely, aging history teacher, Barbara Covett (Dench), uses it as blackmail against Hart. Both Blanchett and Dench went on to receive Academy Award nominations for their superb performances.
9 Truth
Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett teamed up for the 2015 film Truth, which was director James Vanderbilt’s directorial debut after an extensive career in screenwriting. Blanchett plays the real-life Mary Mapes, the producer of 60 Minutes Wednesday in 2004 and a central figure to the Killian documents controversy. Redford portrays news anchor Dan Rather, who reports on Mapes’ findings of President George W. Bush's connections. What makes Truth stand out are the realistic depictions of a newsroom and how they are produced, and the performances from Blanchett and Redford. While the movie runs too political at times, it's undeniable that it had great performances.
8 Manifesto
A beautiful love letter to art, Julian Rosefeldt’s film installation Manifesto consists of 13 timeless manifestos from 20th-century art movements, including Surrealism, Futurism, Suprematism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and more. Blanchett plays all 13 characters who recite manifestos, including a homeless man, a conservative mother, a funeral speaker, a scientist, and a tattooed punk. Manifesto does prove that Blanchett is one of cinema's most talented chameleonic actresses.
7 I'm Not There
I’m Not There is beautifully shot in black and white, but it also brings the story of Bob Dylan filtered through the lens of his public personas. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw play Dylan’s personas. Blanchett is Jude Quinn, a burnt-out folk singer accused of selling out by his fans. Through a strange sequence of events, viewers meet The Beatles, poet Allen Ginsberg, and Coco Rivington along with Jude, reaffirming some of his beliefs about his music and the meaning of making change through art. Blanchett was cast in a male role, but her portrayal adds a particular kind of vulnerability, one that ultimately ends up being a scene-stealer.
6 Don't Look Up
Don’t Look Up may have divided critics and casual movie-goers alike, but one can’t deny the fact that it hits a bit too close to home. Brie Evantee (Blanchett) is the co-host of the morning show that Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio's characters join to warn the world about its impending doom. As DiCaprio's Dr. Randall Mindy becomes a sexualized icon and Lawrence's Kate Dibiasky a meme because of their appearance on the show, Brie decides to take it a step further and engages in an affair with Randall. Without Blanchett and her wandering eyes and hands, the movie wouldn’t have hit an entirely new level of satire and jaw-dropping moments.
5 Carol
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Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt was loosely adapted in the 2015 movie Carol. Carol Aird (Blanchett) is divorcing her husband, which turns out to be much easier said than done. While doll shopping for her daughter, she meets photographer Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who is in a relationship that she’s not passionate about. Carol and Therese have a budding relationship, but in the 1950s, this is much more complicated than it seems. In a world that refuses to acknowledge anything outside the norm, let alone two lesbians, Mara and Blanchett created something special, and perhaps that’s why many consider it to be one of the best LGBTQ+ movies of the 2010s.
4 The Aviator
The Aviator revives a part of American history that falls into nostalgia for some of Hollywood’s greatest years. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes, a film producer that later became a renowned pilot and business owner. The movie tracks his life and career in tandem with his worsening OCD symptoms, which Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett), the actress he’s dating, helps alleviate. DiCaprio and Blanchett both had outstanding performances in The Aviator, which would land them nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively, at the Academy Awards. Blanchett, in fact, went on to win the Oscar for her role as Katharine Hepburn.
3 TÁR
One of the best films of 2022, director Todd Field returned to cinema after a 16-year absence with the brilliant movie TÁR, a complicated, gorgeous, and haunting character study of the fictional famous composer Lydia Tar. Blanchett plays the composer with menacing gusto as a woman who uses her position of power to sleep with younger girls and visiously sidestep anyone who gets in her way. It's a towering, complex performance, aided by an excellent supporting cast including Nina Hoss.
2 Elizabeth
Many have tried to tackle the role of Queen Elizabeth in the movie world, but Cate Blanchett in the 1998 movie Elizabeth is one of the best actors who’ve portrayed the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth focuses on the queen’s early years after inheriting the throne from her half-sister Mary I, but this comes with a unique set of challenges. Although some details in the movie are questionable in regard to historical accuracy, Blanchett commands presence and has the dignity of a queen in her role. She would eventually be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance, but the film overall is visually stunning.
1 Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine has Blanchett playing Jasmine, a rich Manhattan socialite who’s fresh off of a nervous breakdown and is deep in debt. She moves in with her sister (Sally Hawkins), and she needs to learn how to live her life without her husband and past bringing her down. Blanchett’s performance is absolutely her best so far, as she manages to create a highly realistic character that doesn’t seem to have much going for her. She prepared for the role through myriad methods, paying off when she won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role.