Five actresses are vying for the Best actress award at this year's Oscars.

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Volver

Cruz, 32, made her name in a series of Spanish movies, including Belle Epoque and All About My Mother, which both won foreign language film Oscars.

She once again returned to work with director Pedro Almodovar for Volver, which focuses on four generations of women in one family.

Notes on a Scandal

This is the sixth time Dame Judi Dench, 72, has been nominated for an Academy Award. In 1999 she won an Oscar for her role in Shakespeare in Love.

This time she is up for her role in this British film as a vindictive schoolteacher who meddles in the life of a younger colleague.

The Queen

British actress Dame Helen Mirren, 61, plays monarch Elizabeth II in this film that dramatises the reactions of the Royal Family in the wake of Princess Diana's death.

She dominated this year's Golden Globes by winning best actress for both film and TV. She has previously been nominated for two Oscars.

Devil Wears Prada

Meryl Streep, 57, has scored the most Academy Award nominations ever for acting. Her tally now extends to 14 nominations and two wins, for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie's Choice.

Unusually this nomination is for a comedy role, as the boss from hell at a fashion magazine.

Little Children

Over the past decade Kate Winslet has collected four Oscar nominations but has never taken home Hollywood's top prize.