There have been some truly terrific female performances in 2013 from blockbusters to drama, comedy to science fiction.
As the year draws to a close we look back over the year and celebrate some of those stand out women and their work.
- Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence is the actress that just about everyone is talking about - scooping the Oscar will have had something to do with that.
Lawrence turned in an excellent performance in Silver Linings Playbook at the end of 2012, and was rewarded with her first Best Actress Oscar.
But there is only one Lawrence movie this year that just about everyone was excited about... of course I am talking about The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Catching Fire saw her return to the role of Katniss Everdeen for another fantastic performance in the franchise. Lawrence truly understands this character and really does show her strength and fight as well as her self doubt and uncertainty.
Catching Fire is set to be one of the highest grossing movies of the year, and I am already excited to see Mockinjay Part 1.
Lawrence is back on the big screen with American Hustle - a role that could see her win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
- Judi Dench
We have only seen Judi Dench in one film role this year, but boy did she deliver a truly knockout performance.
Philomena was released earlier this autumn and saw Dench take on the title role. The movie followed Philomena Lee as she tried to find the son she had been forced to give up for adoption.
This is a funny and heartbreaking movie - even more so when you know that it is based on a true story.
But it is not a doom and gloom performance from Dench, as she truly captures the glass half full spirit of Philomena.
Dench's performance will really have you laughing and crying, and I would love to see her win the Best Actress Oscar.
- Cate Blanchett
You can always rely on Cate Blanchett to deliver a fine performance every time she appears on screen. There was just one movie this year, but Blue Jasmine was a total triumph.
Blue Jasmine saw Blanchett team up with director Woody Allen for the first time as she took on the role of Jasmine.
Jasmine is a woman who has her life turned upside down when her husband is sent to prison for fraud and her life of luxury is taken away.
The movie follows Jasmine as she tries to get her life back on track. In less expert hands, Jasmine could well a character that the audience loose sympathy for, but not when Blanchett is at the helm.
She is a character that is neurotic and psychotic and yet the humour that Blanchett brings does make her seem more human.
Blanchett is the red hot favourite for the Best Actress Oscar at the 2014 ceremony.
- Emma Thompson
Saving Mr Banks is the film that is currently lighting up the big screen and winning over audiences of all ages.
The movie follows author P.L. Travers as she travels to L.A. to meet Walt Disney, who wants to adapt Mary Poppins for the big screen.
Thompson takes on the role of the somewhat cold and shrill Travers, in one of her finest roles. She mixes drama and comedy with ease to depict Travers as a woman who will stop at nothing to protect the characters that she lovingly created.
Saving Mr Banks is a truly heartwarming and heartbreaking movie that is as touching as it is laugh out loud funny.
Thompson is on top form and banters well with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. She could well find herself in the Best Actress Oscar race.
- Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock was terrific in The Heat this summer, but Gravity really is the movie that everyone has been falling over themselves to praise.
The sci-fi epic sees Bullock take on the role of Dr Ryan Stone, an astronaut stranded in space after a routine space walk goes wrong.
Despite the fact that it is a sweeping sci-fi film, this is a very human story and Bullock is its heart and soul.
Stone is a woman who, because of the loss of a child, is struggling to move forward with her life. This really is a story about her accepting and coming to terms with events of the past and being strong enough to move forward with here life.
I love seeing Bullock in more dramatic roles, and she really has knocked it out of the park with Gravity.
Other great actresses of 2013 include Naomi Watts, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain.