Top 10 Female Performances In Music Biopics

 

This list is of acting portrayals of female singers in movie biopics. Tv movies will be considered, but Tv shows are excluded. 

#10: Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash- Walk The Line

Witherspoon's performance as June Carter Cash has had varied reception among critics and audiences, and that's understandable. Several people found her very annoying and disagreed with her Oscar win. I wouldn't say I agree with her win, but I don't really care enough to disagree either. Overall I thought she did a relatively good job as June Carter. A good job, not a great job (she's at the bottom of this list for a reason). The problem isn't even Witherspoon, it's just that other actresses on this list could easily outshine her.  It also doesn't help that Witherspoon is the only actress on this list whose character is not the center of the movie as "Walk The Line" obviously focuses on Johnny Cash. While that does give Witherspoon a disadvantage, for me it was still a good enough performance to land a spot on this list.

#9: Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla-Perez- Selena

I've always been mixed towards J.Lo as an actress. I never really thought she was terrible or anything, just not that great either (no offense to my aunt, who's the ultimate J.Lo fan). There are only 2 of her performance's I've been impressed by, with one of them being her take on Tejano music legend Selena. Again, like my last pick I didn't think she was amazing but still a good performance. I feel like she understood what made Selena so appealing to people, whether in the Mexican community or outside of it, and duplicated that relatively well. I am aware that her casting was rather controversial, but if you ask me, people are oversensitive. But I will say that her fans (and most likely her family) are probably that way due to her unfortunate end. That I understand.

#8: Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins- Florence Foster Jenkins

Meryl is pretty much amazing in every movie she does. I'm convinced she doesn't know how to put on a bad performance. She does however know how to purposefully sing like a dying cat as Florence Foster Jenkins was probably one of the worst singers in history (which says a lot since Meryl sings pretty well too). Unfortunately for her and our ears, she is unaware of her inability to sing. The girl couldn't sing, but she did make people laugh. And there's no denying that she enjoyed the HELL out of herself. You gotta respect that. I wouldn't be surprised if Meryl respected that as well. Honestly, there's not much I can say about Meryl that has already been said. We all know she's crazy good at what she does and this is just one of probably a million amazing performances. So I'll just leave it at that.

#7: Diana Ross as Billie Holliday- Lady Sings The Blues

I have never seen "The United States Vs. Billie Holiday" and I have no intention of seeing it as my mother said that it was horrible (that and I hate politics). I think we’re just gonna stick with Diana Ross. While Ross has a tendency to over-act at times, I thought she did a great job as Holiday. Yes, she doesn't look like her, but I feel she captured multiple elements of Holiday (particularly her trauma, and she had a lot of it unfortunately) very well. The only thing that probably holds Ross back is the way she sang the songs. She sang them well (this is Diana Ross we're talking about), but she does not sound like Holiday. But to a certain extent, I don't really care. The Oscars clearly didn't care either as she received a "Best Actress" nomination for her performance. 

#6: Jessica Lange as Pasty Cline- Sweet Dreams

Jessica Lange portrays country music legend Patsy Cline in the 1985 film "Sweet Dreams" named after the Cline hit. The film obviously centers around the rise of Cline. However it also centers around her relationship with her husband Charlie, portrayed by Ed Harris. Lange did a very good job with this performance as I feel like she really captured the confidence and glamor that Cline had. Her chemistry with Harris was also very well done. From what it looked like, Charlie and Patsy brought out both the best and the worst in each other (same goes with another certain couple that I will bring up later on this list). Other than this, I don't really have much to say about this performance. Lange also received a nomination for "Best Actress" as well.

#5: Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland- Judy

Judy Garland needed some serious therapy. She was pretty, talented, and is one of the greatest actresses of all time. But has serious issues with drugs, sleep, and her weight, which she has struggled with for her whole life. Her biopic is set near the end of her life when she was just getting by singing in nightclubs and her drug use had taken its toll on her health and finances. What made Zellweger's performance great is that you can tell she took on the icon with care and respect. That's an accomplishment considering it would be easy for her to come off as problematic, which she was but also emotionally damaged in my opinion. But she tried so hard for both her and her kids, and Zellweger really captured that. Zellweger is the second actress on this list who's performance won her an Oscar.

#4: Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice- Funny Girl

Shout out to my sister Neriah, as she is the reason I saw this movie in the first place. Barbra Streisand probably has somewhat of an unfair advantage as she also portrayed Brice in the original Broadway production of "Funny Girl". But I don't really care, because I don't think anyone can portray Brice like Streisand did. She just had a natural charm and charisma to her performance that you can't help but love. Streisand also did a great job balancing Brice's drama-queen attitude with her insecurities and more vulnerable moments. Perfect reminder that under all her jokes and ambitious personality is a human being. With all due respect to Katherine Hepburn, did they really need to tie her and Streisand (then again I've never seen "The Lion In Winter", so I can't really judge)?

#3: Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf- La Vie en Rose

I finally understand the buzz around Marion Cotillard. I don't dislike her or anything, but there were times where I felt she was overhyped. That is until I saw "La Vie en Rose", which centers on French singer Edith Piaf and her rise to stardom as well as her years of hard living. Cotillard had a presence that either dazzled or commanded the audience each and every time she was on screen. I think Cotillard was at her best when she was portraying Piaf during her older years when she was deteriorating. You could feel her delusion, her pain and her fear. It was sad but incredibly acted. So I have no problem with saying that I see why she won her Oscar  and it was well deserved. I really didn’t think she would impress me this much, but she did and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her work.

#2: Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn- Coal Miner's Daughter

Now, I already knew Sissy Spacek could act as I did watch her scare (and kill) the crap out of people in “Carrie”, so I had high expectations from her when watching “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. Of course the movie centers on Loretta Lynn, her rise to fame and her loving but EXTREMELY tumultuous relationship with her husband Doo, whom she married at age 15 (cue the facepalm emoji). The last Oscar-winning performance on this list, Spacek really showcased Lynn’s inner growth as she got deeper into her career. And, like Lang and Harris with “Sweet Dreams”, she had really good chemistry with Lee Jones. Also like “Sweet Dreams”, Lynn and Doo probably brought out the best and worst in each other. He supported Lynn’s career, but he could also be controlling. But I do believe they loved each other, their marriage did surprisingly last the distance.

And like always, here are some honorable mentions.............................

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe- MWWM Queen Latifa as Bessie Smith- Bessie

-I'm not watching "Blonde" -Never watched, don't care enough to

Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge- IDD Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin- Respect

-She was fine, that's it                                             - I'm not kissing her butt

Dakota Fanning & Kristen Stewart as Cherrie Curie & Joan Jett- The Runaways

-CHERRY BOMB!

#1: Angela Bassett as Tina Turner- What's Love Got To Do With It

Bassett was originally the only actress on this list whose character was still alive. But unfortunately, we lost Miss Turner earlier this year. While she wasn’t particularly fond of the movie, she did express her approval of Bassett’s performance just earlier this year, declaring that she had found her ‘Inner Tina’. And I agree. Bassett really did embrace Turner’s personality as well as embody her struggles with Ike. There’s no denying that the portrayal of her extremely toxic relationship with Ike and her escape as well as her success after is the defining factor of why Bassett is praised for her performance (by everyone except ironically Tina and Ike). And while that is understandable, I was even more impressed by the wildside Bassett showcased. This is probably because I only see her as the Queen Of Wakanda now (despite the fact that I’ve seen multiple Bassett movies, good and bad). I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of Turner, but I do respect her to a small extent as well as Bassett’s performance, which is my main reason for her placement at #1.

Like always, there's a link to the google slides down below. Thanks for reading.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Aj-OgUOb5ND_ZzaJyO7CA0XduQ2kQvGU0yLVuvnIRE8/edit?usp=sharing