Oscars 2022: Every Acting Nominee Ranked

In a case of life imitating art, much of the discussion around King Richard has centred around Will Smith rather than Aunjanue Ellis, just like how Richard Williams' impact on the careers of tennis superstars Venus and Serena often overshadowed the contributions of their mother, Oracene Williams.

For her performance, Ellis has scored her first Oscar nomination for bringing Oracene's story to life, playing the mother with an inspirational, wise power that often stands toe-to-toe with her more prominent on-screen husband.

For a while, it looked as though Ellis would miss out on a nod, given the stiff competition of the Best Supporting Actress category, but in prevailing has set the next chapter of her already-great career up beautifully.

The fact that she's ranked this low is just a frank indication of how strong this year's nominees are, really, because she really is fantastic.