A Filmmaker's Guide to the Best Performances: Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is one of the finest actresses of the 21st century and she has portrayed a multitude of amazing and complex characters. As a woman, she has become one of the most respected people in her sector with many other actresses clearly attempting to copy or replicate her style. Her acting has become widely watched from audiences all around the world with a cult following developing around her. From her villainous appearances to her high drama, her romantic characters and her biopics in which she plays real people - Cate Blanchett can pretty much portray any character. Personally, she is one of my favourite actresses.

I can honestly say that Cate Blanchett has portrayed so many different characters that you can't really dislike her in everything because every one of her roles is entirely different to the last. Her amazing talent has been on our screens for a while and we have been blessed with being able to see her lovely acting in films in which she has deserved the awards she has won. A great and decorated actress, Cate Blanchett truly is one of the finest actresses of her generation.

Background

Cate Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1969 to a teacher and an advertising executive. When Cate Blanchett was ten years' old, her father died of a heart attack. Cate Blanchett is the middle child of her family of her older brother, Bob and her younger sister, Genevieve. She has described herself as being an extrovert in her youth and had a love for dressing in masculine clothing. She also went through a punk phase in which she shaved her head.

Blanchett ended up going to a Methodist Ladies' College to study performing arts. In her 20s, she worked at a nursing home in Victoria. She went to travel and ended up in Egypt where she was asked to play an American Cheerleader in an Egyptian movie and she accepted. When she returned to Australia, she went to Sydney and enrolled in NIDA. She graduated with a BFA.

Cate Blanchett is a staunch feminist, agains the conservatives in more than one issue. Not just gender, but also environmentalism. Cate Blanchett advocated for the Carbon Tax. She has constantly been involved in the political spectrum, not afraid to say her beliefs in interviews and on television and so, has been seen as an outspoken woman by many. Personally, I think she is amazing.

What we're going to do now is we're going to go through the ten greatest performances by Cate Blanchett in film. We're going to list what I think are the greatest of her career. So let's have a look at that...

The Top Ten Performances in Film by Cate Blanchett:

10. Sheba Hart in Notes on a Scandal (2006)

9. Queen Elizabeth in Elizabeth (1998)

8. Lucinda in Oscar and Lucinda (1997)

7. Hela in Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

6. Susan Jones in Babel (2006)

5. Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

4. Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004)

3. Daisy Fuller in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

2. Elizabeth I in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

1. Jude Quinn in I'm Not There (2007)

So there we go, the greatest performances by Cate Blanchett. There are so many more that didn't make the list and since she is my favourite actress, I have done a very special article on her for today. It is very close to my heart and, if you guys remember, in my birthday special of my favourite movies, "I'm Not There" (2007) was at number one.

I love the way in which her acting is always referred to as some of the greatest performances of the 21st century and how she is constantly changing her style. She never really does the same role twice and you can see how she has evolved from a romantic second to a leading lady in biopics, action films, epic dramas, historical dramas and many more. On her birthday, you can honour her by watching some of her greatest movies and I think I'm going to watch "I'm Not There" (2007) again. It's just such an amazing movie and her performance is incredible.