Annette Bening: The 10 Best Movies Of Her Career Ranked

Summary

• Annette Bening is a legendary movie star with multiple nominations and incredible performances throughout her career.
• Bening shines in adaptations like “Richard III” and biopics like “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool” with great chemistry.
• From “Bugsy” to “American Beauty,” Bening’s range and depth as an actress make her performances award-worthy.

Annette Bening has been a movie star almost from the moment she began appearing in films, and she’s never slowed down. Multiple Oscar nominations, Emmy nominations, and Tony nominations mean that Bening is one of the few movie stars to have been nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting and still not won any of those awards. Winning and losing trophies does not seem to be of much concern to Bening however, because year after year, Bening provides audiences with a new, startling, and beautiful performance, or performances.

A master of television and the stage, it’s in movies that Bening has showcased the extreme breadth of her talents. There’s a reason this Hollywood legend’s presence in an MCU movie is such a momentous casting job. A theater actor for most of her career, Bening appeared in her first film, The Great Outdoors, in 1988. Only two years later, Bening received her first Academy Award nomination. Since then, she’s racked up five Oscar nominations, 10 Golden Globe nominations with two wins, and seven SAG nominations with two wins, but every movie performance by Bening is award-worthy.

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10 Richard III (1995)

Queen Elizabeth

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Laurence Olivier’s Richard III from 1955 may be the most critically acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, but the 1995 version is perhaps better known. Set in a fictional version of 1930s Great Britain, Richard III stars Ian McKellen as the titular king, and Annette Bening as Queen Elizabeth. A mesmerizing and unique take on the play, Richard III is an impressive adaptation for modern audiences.

Richard III
is one of the few times Bening has been able to showcase her comfort and confidence in delivering Shakespeare’s lines.

Bening had her start on the stage, earning two Tony nominations, the first for Best Featured Actress in a Play in the 1987 Coastal Disturbances, and working with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival company. Richard III is one of the few times Bening has been able to showcase her comfort and confidence in delivering Shakespeare’s lines. Her American accent works for the role, helping the character to feel more like an outsider.

9 Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (2017)

Gloria Grahame

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

When Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame discovers she has a terminal illness, she seeks out her ex, who takes her to Liverpool for three weeks. Based on real events.

Director Paul McGuigan Release Date November 16, 2017 Cast Jamie Bell , Annette Bening , Julie Walters , Kenneth Cranham , Stephen Graham Runtime 105 min

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool is based on the memoir by Peter Turner, about his relationship with Academy Award-winning actress, Gloria Grahame. The film begins in 1979, towards the end of Grahame’s (Annette Bening) career, when she develops breast cancer and meets the much younger actor Turner (Jamie Bell). Their relationship is traced until 1981 when Grahame passes away after her cancer returns.

Gloria Grahame was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category in 1947 for
Crossfire
as Ginny Tremaine and in 1952 for
The Bad and the Beautiful
as Rosemary Bartlow, the latter of which she won.

Bell and Bening’s chemistry is fantastic. Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool doesn’t shy away from the sticky issue of Grahame’s and Turner’s age difference, but the relationship the actors create feels so honest, that it’s hard not to get wrapped up in it. Bening’s performance captures all aspects of Gloria Grahame, showcasing her dignity, flirtatious side, and fear. While the movie is a standard biopic, Bening’s performance elevates it.

8 Bugsy (1991)

Virginia Hill

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Bugsy RBiographyCrimeDocumentaryDramaHistory Where to Watch

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*Availability in US Director Barry Levinson Release Date December 10, 1991 Cast Warren Beatty , Annette Bening , Harvey Keitel , Ben Kingsley , Elliott Gould , Joe Mantegna Runtime 134 minutes

Annette Bening and Warren Beatty wed in 1992 and have been married since. In 1991, they costarred as the romantic leads in the gangster epic, Bugsy, and their real-life relationship clearly influenced their performances as their chemistry is arguably some of the best ever seen in movies. A classic of the organized crime movie genre, Bugsy tells the story of historical gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (Beatty) and his affair with Hollywood star Virginia Hill (Bening).

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The film earned 10 Academy Award nominations, winning in two categories, and Bening earned her first Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

The film earned 10 Academy Award nominations, winning in two categories, and Bening earned her first Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. This is one of Bening’s most electric and fun performances. She’s allowed to cut loose as the tough and fearless Hill, who has no qualms about dating a famous Jewish mobster who rubs shoulders with Meyer Lansky and the like.

7 Nyad (2023)

Diana Nyad

Nyad PG-13BiographyDramaSports

Based on the true story of athletic swimmer Diana Nyad, Nyad is a biographical sports drama by directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Decades after shifting careers to a prolific sports journalist, Diana partners up with her best friend to coach her to tackle the 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida that she always wanted to tackle, now at the age of sixty.

Director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi , Jimmy Chin Release Date September 1, 2023 Cast Annette Bening , Jodie Foster , Rhys Ifans Runtime 121 Minutes

As if to prove she still has many years of acting to go, Annette Bening starred in the 2023 sports biopic Nyad as Diana Nyad and earned an Oscar nomination, Golden Globe nomination, and SAG nomination in the Best Actress categories. Nyad is a true story about Diana Nyad’s many attempts to swim the Straits of Florida between the Sunshine State and Cuba. Taking place over multiple years, Diana overcomes obstacles and setbacks with her trainer and former partner, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster).

It’s a physically and mentally demanding performance from Bening, who plays Diana with a determination that borders on obsession. Foster and Bening play the friend/trainer/former lovers dynamic with heart and authenticity. It’s a brave and open performance from Bening, who never tries to play up Diana as a young, powerful athlete. She keeps the character dignified but restricted by her age and strength.

6 The American President (1995)

Sydney Ellen Wade

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In The American President, popular president and widower Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) meets Sydney Wade (Annette Bening), an environmental lobbyist whom he begins to fall for, all while working to be reelected. The film was nominated for six Golden Globes, including Best Actor for Douglas and Best Actress for Bening. Like many works by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, The American President is an idyllic look at government and institutions of power.

Bening once again has amazing chemistry with her co-star and a relationship that could feel trite in someone else’s hands is heartwarming and nostalgic in hers.

It was such a success, that the film directly led to Sorkin’s series, The West Wing, with characters, ideas, and even scenes taken wholesale from the movie. Bening once again has amazing chemistry with her co-star and a relationship that could feel trite in someone else’s hands is heartwarming and nostalgic in hers. It’s a grounded performance that ensures the more unbelievable parts of The American President still feel possible.

5 Being Julia (2004)

Julia Lambert

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Being Julia RComedyDocumentaryDramaRomance Where to Watch

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*Availability in US Director István Szabó Release Date September 3, 2004 Cast Michael Gambon , Annette Bening , Leigh Lawson , Shaun Evans , Mari Kiss , Jeremy Irons Runtime 104 minutes

Being Julia stars Annette Bening as the titular Julia Lambert, an actress in 1930s London. Julia has been feeling discontented with her successful stage career and dreams of retiring, but a tryst with a younger man (Shaun Evans) reinvigorates her interest in life. The role earned Bening an Academy Award nomination and a SAG nomination for Best Actress, and she received her first Golden Globe win for Best Actress.

Being Julia
is based on the novel
Theatre
(1937) by English writer W. Somerset Maugham.

It’s a light, funny, and energetic movie brightened by Bening’s fantastic performance. It’s one of the few comedic performances in Bening’s filmography, and she switches between a steely, haughty, grand actress figure and an overemotional, bubbly starlet with ease. She’s a joy to watch and her final scene on stage as she turns the tables on her rival is an example of why she is such a celebrated theatre actor.

4 20th Century Woman (2016)

Dorothea Fields

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In 20th Century Woman, Annette Bening plays Dorothea Fields, a 55-year-old single mother of 15-year-old Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann). Having trouble connecting with her son, Dorothea asks her younger tenants and Jamie’s friends, Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and Julie (Elle Fanning) to help raise him. It’s a complex and deep look at motherhood, relationships, and trying to give a child a better life than the parent ever had.

Bening was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as an aging woman filled with contradictions. Dorothea is an authentic character who rarely makes the correct choices, but she can’t be blamed for them because of just how human those choices are. Bening is heartbreaking, funny, and even a little inspiring as a mom trying her best to do what she can to take care of her teenage son.

3 The Grifters (1990)

Myra Langtry

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The Grifters was only Annette Bening’s third film role, but her performance as Myra Langtry was impressive enough to garner her her first Academy Award nomination. In the film, Myra (Benning) and her boyfriend, Roy Dillon (John Cusack) are a couple of con artists who run into Dillon’s mother, Lily (Angelica Huston), another con artist, after not having seen her for years. What results is a backstabbing, double-crossing feature-length con that gets more disturbing the longer it goes.

Bening was a young actress when she appeared in the movie, but she stands out among an impressive roster of talents. Myra is a wry and edgy femme fatale character, and it’s never easy to tell if she’s working with or playing someone. On the outside, Myra is a kind and loving girlfriend, but on the inside, she’s a dangerous individual, and Bening can handle both sides with equal aplomb.

2 American Beauty (1999)

Carolyn Burnham

American Beauty (1999) RDrama

American Beauty, released in 1999, is a drama film directed by Sam Mendes. It follows the life of Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, a disillusioned suburban father undergoing a profound midlife crisis. Annette Bening co-stars as his ambitious wife, Carolyn. The film explores themes of beauty, desire, and existential ennui within the confines of American suburbia.

Director Sam Mendes Release Date September 15, 1999 Cast Kevin Spacey , Annette Bening , Thora Birch , Wes Bentley , Mena Suvari , Peter Gallagher , Allison Janney , Chris Cooper Runtime 122 minutes Budget $15 Million

American Beauty is a movie that defined ’90s cinema, which makes it such a shame that the film is now overshadowed by Kevin Spacey’s critical involvement. If a viewer can get past the unfortunate pairing of actor and story, American Beauty is still an incredible tale about a man, Lester (Spacey), having a midlife crisis and becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend. Annette Bening plays Carolyn Burnham, Lester’s wife, a materialistic and overambitious real estate agent who has long since fallen out of love with her husband and barely acknowledges his existence.

Bening was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress, and she won the SAG in the same category. Her performance is fierce, upsetting, and ultimately pitiful. There is a seething suburban anger and rage underneath Carolyn’s prim and proper, go-getter surface, and it’s frightening when she lets it peak out. It’s the best type of overacting performance and makes her devastation at the end of the movie hit all the harder after seeing her be so cutting and mean beforehand.

1 The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Nic Allgood

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The Kids Are All Right LGBTQ Where to Watch

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The Kids Are All Right is a 2010 film directed by Lisa Cholodenko, centering on a married lesbian couple, Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), whose teenage children seek out their biological father, Paul (Mark Ruffalo). The family’s dynamic is tested as Paul becomes involved in their lives, leading to complex and emotional interactions. The film explores themes of family, relationships, and identity.

Director Lisa Cholodenko Release Date July 9, 2010 Cast Julianne Moore , Annette Bening , Mark Ruffalo Runtime 106 Minutes

The Kids Are Alright stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as Dr. Nicole ‘Nic’ Allgood and Jules Allgood, respectively, a married couple with two children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson). When Joni and Laser find their biological father, Paul Hatfield (Mark Ruffalo), they get to know him, upsetting the balance of the family. Bening earned an Oscar nomination and a SAG nomination for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe in the same category.

Nic is a completely realized character with all the foibles, eccentricities, and tendencies of a real person. Bening straddles the line of making Nic loveable and unlikeable, and therefore creates an extremely human character threatened by a newcomer in her family but also guilt-ridden by how she’s caused her family pain. Her discovery of Jules’ affair is emotionally devastating both because of the performance and for how staid Annette Bening has played the character up until that point.

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