Ranking The Academy Award For Best Actress Winners' Performances From The Past Decade

From her early days as Matilda in Leon, Natalie Portman has always been a highly capable actress, though up until 2010, she'd never imbued a character so deeply as to put her in contention for an Oscar. That changed with Black Swan.

Portman's intensity and dramatic shifts in personality made for a deeply uncomfortable watch. Not unlike the eponymous character in Swan Lake, Nina finds herself transformed into a very dark and violent person as she desperately proves herself worthy of dancing both the black and white swans.

Darren Aronofsky's film is underscored with malice and lust, all which make to heighten the depth of Portman's performance and descent into madness. She goes from being a sweet and timid creature to a fully malevolent and violent incarnation of an elite ballet dancer.

Natalie Portman's win was well earned, though not under as intense competition of some of the others. Her competition, though from world-class actresses, wasn't as strong. Michelle Williams, Annette Bening and Nicole Kidman have each delivered better performances in other work; with the possible exception of Jennifer Lawrence, who was an unknown to wider audiences at the time.

For Black Swan, Portman won the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award.

Verdict: Deserved - if only because there were no stronger performances to compete with.