This year, we're celebrating some of the biggest female names across a number of industries in our first ever Female First Awards! From entertainment to sports; social media to this year's biggest moments, we've put our heads together to come up with some of the most memorable and exciting people, places and things from the past 12 months. Here, we're taking a look at the five best television actresses that 2018 has had to offer, and we're sure you'll agree that all of these women deserve their place on the list!
Nominee: Alison Brie, GLOW
Based (loosely) on the groundbreaking Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling from the 80s, Netflix's fantastic comedy series GLOW follows a group of wannabe actresses who land a gig as female wrestlers on small-time television, but who are convinced their growing in-ring talents will see them take on the world. Working under a director who many think is past his time (played perfectly by Marc Maron), the ladies are facing a major uphill battle with hurdles at every turn.
This year, season 2 premiered to a slew of incredible reviews (it currently sits at 99% on reviews aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes!), and when you've watched the easily-consumable bite-sized episodes, you'll see why.
Whilst every member of the ensemble cast holds their own, we've got to point out Alison Brie's brilliance in the role of Ruth Wilder. She's an imperfect, flawed, highly emotional character, which of course makes her one of the most personable and relatable women on the small screen.
Brie gives everything to her performance. When she needs to be funny, she has us crying with laughter; when it seems as though her world is collapsing around her, we're crying for a whole other reason. She demands attention whenever she's front-and-centre, and her wrestling persona Zoya the Destroya is without a doubt the funniest this squared circle has to offer.
Nominee: Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale
Though the entirety of Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name was covered in the first season of The Handmaid's Tale, the series proved to be too much of a hit to let lie dormant. Instead, a second season was ordered by streaming service Hulu, and it looks as if there could be plenty more in future years! Atwood even revealed earlier this month that she had started writing the follow-up novel to her original, so it will be very interesting to see just how close her story runs to that being told on the small screen.
Leading star Elisabeth Moss, who tackles the challenging role of June Osborne, aka Offred in the show, made her return, and in the biggest way possible. She had a lot to live up to following the award-winning performance she gave in the show's first 10 episodes, but after taking home the Best Actress in a Drama Series gong at this year's Critics' Choice Television Awards, we'd say she's done a great job of matching up to her prior reputation!
With a third season already confirmed, we can't imagine this will be the last time Moss makes this list. She's too brilliant of an actress to ignore, and we're excited to see what else she gets up to in the near future.
Nominee: Keeley Hawes, Bodyguard
It's the series that got the country talking, and one that has made a splash across the pond following its US debut on Netflix. Bodyguard, created by Jed Mercurio and starring some incredible British talent such as Richard Madden and Sophie Rundle, took audiences on an intense and dramatic ride through six episodes of absolute chaos. Anybody who tells you they weren't on the edge of their seats when a sniper had the Home Secretary in his sights, or when terrorists targeted a primary school, are liars!
Keeley Hawes, who has worked with Mercurio in the past on his police procedural Line of Duty, and earned a BAFTA TV Awards nomination for Best Actress thanks to her performance in that drama, clearly isn't somebody who rests on her laurels. As the Home Secretary Julia Montague, she managed to convey all of the personality traits of a person we could both love and hate at the same time. Madden's character Sergeant David Budd isn't the only one who had trouble figuring out Montague's intentions...
It says a lot about the time Hawes spent on screen in Bodyguard that viewers are already demanding her character (spoiler alert!) returns from the dead. Mercurio is such a talented writer that we could actually see it happening, because let's face it, it would be a real shame to lose her if future seasons of the show are given the green light.
She also demanded equal pay for her Bodyguard role, so what's not to love?
Nominee: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Whether you know her from her time on Grey's Anatomy as the hilarious Cristina Yang, from one of her many other roles across television and film, or you didn't know of Sandra Oh at all before Killing Eve, she's an actress who makes an instant impression on anybody who's given the opportunity to watch her.
As Eve Polastri, Oh was stepping into a role unlike any she'd had before, but it was obvious from her opening minutes in the thriller that she was right at home playing opposite the likes of Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw and Sean Delaney. Though the series is one that would fall into the spy genre, writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge managed to break down any boundaries that may have been preset for this type of drama.
Oh's delivery of lines goes unrivalled in television. She's so dry and incredibly witty - or at least her characters are - that you believe everything that comes out of her mouth. If she instantly doesn't trust somebody, you feel exactly the same way. She's one of the most believable stars the small screen has played host to, and without a doubt one of the funniest.
Nominee: Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Forgive us for sticking with the same show for our final nominee, but Jodie Comer's performance throughout the entirety of Killing Eve isn't something we could miss out on including. We're not The Golden Globes! We'd go as far to say that Jodie's performance has to be not only one of the best television performances of the year, but of the past decade. Or two. Or ever.
Oksana Astankova, aka Villanelle, is a psychopathic assassin who has no qualms in taking down her targets. What's really scary is that now, if any of us saw Comer in our real lives, we'd be worried about approaching her for a selfie because of her incredibly realistic take on the character!
Upon realising that MI5 Agent Eve is on her tail, an obsession within Villanelle is sparked up, and mirrored by her counterpart. The cat-and-mouse game that they play is one you think only Villanelle could ever win; Comer brings such a gravity to the role that you forget about all of the hatred you conjured up for her husband-stealing character in ITV's Doctor Foster.
Comer is without a doubt one of the most exciting young stars of her time. The future is bright for her, and we cannot wait to see where she goes next.
- Day 1: TV Actress of the Year
- Day 2: Movies Actress of the Year
- Day 3: Reality TV Star of the Year
- Day 4: Musician of the Year
- Day 5: Video Game Performance of the Year
- Day 6: Author of the Year
- Day 7: Social Media Influencer of the Year
- Day 8: Comedian of the Year
- Day 9: Athlete of the Year
- Day 10: Villain of the Year
Tagged in Television