10 Iconic Performances That Weren't Even Nominated For An Oscar

9. Reese Witherspoon - Election

Although Reese Witherspoon sometimes has a tendency to take on projects that perhaps don't utilize her skills as well as they could (how many awful romantic comedies has she done?), every once in a while she really knocks one of the park. Take, for example, her Oscar-nominated performance in this year's Wild, about a woman who uses a backpacking trip as an opportunity to find herself. But the role that really put her on the map as a serious actress was Tracy Flick in Election. She played a ruthlessly ambitious high school student hellbent on becoming senior class president and willing to do pretty much anything to accomplish her goals. It's a black comedy, and her outrageous antics are totally inappropriate yet darkly humorous. Tracy is such a great character for a young female actress, and Witherspoon plays her as an intriguing combination of pep and malevolence. The way she presents herself is all rainbows and sunshine, but she's probably one of the most conniving characters in film history. Despite the fact that Hollywood usually likes to reward young actresses, Witherspoon didn't get any Oscar love for her work in this film.