And who could discount Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin.

Adriana Barraza Cate Blanchett Abigail Breslin

Jennifer Hudson Rinko Kikuchi

Inarritu's wife suggested Barraza for the Babel role

A popular face in Mexican television dramas, actress Barraza first came to worldwide attention in Amores Perros, the Spanish-language hit from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

She joined forces with Inarritu six years later for the Oscar-nominated Babel, playing a Mexican nanny who finds herself stranded in the desert with her two American charges.

"Every scene hit me in the heart and the gut," said Barraza of the role. "She has that quality of unconditional maternal love, who is also tough and endures a lot of pain."

The star, who has had two heart attacks, briefly collapsed while working in punishing conditions in the Sonoran desert, but insisted on continuing filming to maintain the film's tight shooting schedule.

Alongside her work as an actress, Barraza is also a distinguished acting coach, drama teacher and TV director.

The film sees Blanchett re-team with Shipping News co-star Judi Dench

Australia's Cate Blanchett rivals Kate Winslet to the title of most talented actress of her generation.

A previous Oscar winner for her role as Katherine Hepburn in 2004's The Aviator, the star secured her latest nomination for Notes on a Scandal, in which she plays an art teacher who has an affair with her 15-year-old pupil.

A talented stage actress and forthcoming artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, she came to international attention playing the lead in Shekhar Kapur's 1998 drama Elizabeth.

She lost out on a best actress Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow, but returns to the role later this year in the historical sequel The Golden Age.

Subsequent hits, including Pushing Tin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and best picture nominee Babel, have revealed a sure-footed command of any cinematic genre, meaning Blanchett remains at the top of many directors' wish-list.

Breslin hopes to match Tatum O'Neal's Oscar success in 1974, aged 11

Ten-year-old Abigail Breslin becomes the fourth youngest actress nominated for an Oscar, with her winning performance as Olive in Little Miss Sunshine.

Born into an acting family in New York, Breslin began performing at the age of three and made her screen debut as Mel Gibson's daughter, Bo, in M Night Shyamalan's Signs.

The sister of Spencer Breslin - of The Cat in the Hat fame - Breslin is good friends with her brother's co-star, and child star rival Dakota Fanning.

Previous work includes starring opposite Damian Lewis in the critically acclaimed Keane. Breslin will co-star with Catherine Zeta Jones in the forthcoming No Reservations.

Hudson was uncowed by co-star and pop queen Beyonce Knowles

Hailed as Simon Cowell's greatest professional mistake, Jennifer Hudson - who left TV talent show American Idol in seventh place three years ago - is on course for Oscar glory.

The 25-year-old newcomer beat nearly 800 contenders, including the American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, to win the role of Effie White in big screen musical Dreamgirls.

It's a role made famous by Jennifer Holliday in the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name, and purportedly inspired by the "lost" Supremes star Florence Ballard and Aretha Franklin.

Hudson has already picked up the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics Association award for her role as Effie, which showcases her powerful voice and dramatic range.

Kikuchi took her character's brazen nudity in her stride

The first Japanese actress to secure an Oscar nomination in almost 50 years, Rinko Kikuchi's remarkable performance as a deaf mute in Babel has won deserved praise.

Despite a string of film roles, the 26-year-old was, until now, relatively unknown even in her native Japan.

But determined to secure the Babel role, Kikuchi spent a year learning sign language to impress Mexican film-maker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - despite his original intentions to cast a deaf actress .

Since winning her place on the Academy Awards shortlist, Kikuchi has made headline news across the country, and Variety magazine has named her as one of their "10 Actors to Watch".

It marks a breakthrough year for Japan, which has also seen Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language film Letter From Iwo Jima given a best picture nomination.