Oscars

Natalie Portman won the Oscar for best actress for her performance in 'Black Swan'.
The Academy Award for Best Actress of 2010 went to Natalie Portman for her performance in "Black Swan."

The Academy Award for Best Actress of 2011 went to Meryl Streep for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." The award was Streep's third Oscar in a record 17 nominations. She previously won the 1979 Best Supporting Actress award for "Kramer vs. Kramer" and the 1982 Best Actress award for "Sophie's Choice."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) are resposible for the Academy Awards (Oscars) each year.

The following was retrieved from Oscars.org on 06/22/2010

They are 6,000 artists and professionals who bring the magic of the movies to life. They are the entertainment industry's preeminent filmmakers.

Members of the Academy represent 15 general areas - actors, animators and short film makers, art directors and costume designers, cinematographers, composers and songwriters, documentary filmmakers, directors, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, public relations specialists, sound artists and engineers, visual effects experts and writers. Below is a short sample of the individuals in each area and select credits.

• Amy Adams - "Doubt (AA nomination)," "Charlie Wilson's War," "Enchanted," "Underdog," "Junebug" (AA nomination), "The Wedding Date," "Catch Me If You Can"
• Jim Broadbent - "Hot Fuzz," "Art School Confidential," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," "Vera Drake," "Bridget Jones's Diary," "Iris" (AA win)
• Steve Carell - "Dan in Real Life," "Evan Almighty," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," "Little Miss Sunshine"
• Benicio Del Toro - "Things We Lost in the Fire," "21 Grams" (AA nomination), "Traffic" (AA win), "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "The Usual Suspects"
• Robert Downey Jr. - "Tropic Thunder" (AA nomination), "Iron Man," "Lucky You," "A Scanner Darkly," "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," "Restoration," "Chaplin" (AA nomination), "Soapdish," "Less than Zero"
• Ryan Gosling - "Lars and the Real Girl," "Half Nelson" (AA nomination), "The Notebook," "Remember the Titans"
• Salma Hayek - "Across the Universe," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over," "Frida" (AA nomination), "Desperado"
• Keira Knightley - "Atonement," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Domino," "Pride & Prejudice" (AA nomination), "Bend It Like Beckham"
• Jack Nicholson - "The Bucket List," "The Departed," "About Schmidt" (AA nomination), "As Good As It Gets" (AA win), "Prizzi's Honor" (AA nomination), "Terms of Endearment" (AA win), "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" (AA win), "Chinatown" (AA nomination)
• Will Smith - "I Am Legend," "The Pursuit of Happyness" (AA nomination), "Hitch," "I, Robot," "Shark Tale," "Ali" (AA nomination), "Men in Black," "Independence Day," "Six Degrees of Separation"
• Meryl Streep - "Doubt" (AA nomination), "Lions for Lambs," "The Devil Wears Prada" (AA nomination), "Adaptation" (AA nomination), "The Bridges of Madison County" (AA nomination), "Julie & Julia" (AA nomination), "Out of Africa" (AA nomination), "Sophie's Choice" (AA win), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (AA win)

• James Acheson - "Spider-Man 3," "Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man," "The Wind in the Willows," "Restoration" (AA win), "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," "Dangerous Liaisons" (AA win), "The Last Emperor" (AA win), "Brazil"
• Jenny Beavan - "The Black Dahlia," "Gosford Park" (AA nomination), "Anna and the King" (AA nomination), "Sense and Sensibility" (AA nomination), "The Remains of the Day" (AA nomination), "Howards End" (AA nomination), "A Room with a View" (AA win)
• Ruth Carter - "Four Brothers," "Bamboozled," "Summer of Sam," "Amistad" (AA nomination), "Cobb," "What's Love Got to Do with It," "Malcolm X" (AA nomination)
• Sharen K. Davis - "The Great Debaters," "The Pursuit of Happyness," "Dreamgirls" (AA nomination), "Akeelah and the Bee," "Beauty Shop," "Ray" (AA nomination), "Antwone Fisher," "Devil in a Blue Dress"
• Jeffrey Kurland - "Nancy Drew," "Collateral," "Hidalgo," "Ocean's Eleven," "Erin Brockovich," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "Mighty Aphrodite," "Bullets over Broadway" (AA nomination)
• Emi Wada - "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers," "8 ½ Women," "Akira Kurosawa's Dreams," "Ran" (AA win)
• Production Designers
• Nathan Crowley - "The Dark Knight" (AA nomination), "The Lake House," "The Prestige" (AA nomination), "Batman Begins," "Veronica Guerin," "Behind Enemy Lines," "Braveheart"
• Dante Ferretti - "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (AA win), "The Aviator" (AA win), "Gangs of New York" (AA nomination), "Kundun" (AA nomination), "Interview with the Vampire" (AA nomination), "The Age of Innocence" (AA nomination), "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (AA nomination)
• Jeannine Oppewall - "The Good Shepherd" (AA nomination), "Seabiscuit" (AA nomination), "Catch Me If You Can," "Pleasantville" (AA nomination), "L.A. Confidential" (AA nomination), "Tender Mercies," "The Bridges of Madison County"
• Patrizia von Brandenstein - "All the King's Men," "The Ice Harvest," "Man on the Moon," "The People vs. Larry Flynt," "The Quick and the Dead," "Postcards from the Edge," "The Untouchables" (AA nomination), "Amadeus" (AA win), "Ragtime" (AA nomination)

• Rosemary Brandenburg - "Transformers," "Deja Vu," "The Weather Man," "The Ring," "Cast Away," "Amistad," "The Flintstones," "Hocus Pocus"
• Cheryl Carasik - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (AA nomination), "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (AA nomination), "Primary Colors," "Men in Black" (AA nomination), "The Birdcage" (AA nomination), "A Little Princess" (AA nomination)
• Robert Gould - "Live Free or Die Hard," "Poseidon," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (AA nomination), "U-571," "Demolition Man," "Total Recall," "Robocop," "St. Elmo's Fire"
• Anne Kuljian - "Mr. Brooks," "War of the Worlds," "The Terminal," "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat," "Basic Instinct," "The Abyss" (AA nomination)
• Ric McElvin - "Evan Almighty," "Yours, Mine and Ours," "Bruce Almighty," "Bringing Down the House," "Galaxy Quest," "Tin Cup"

• Bojan Bazelli - "Hairspray," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "The Ring," "Kalifornia," "King of New York"
• Roger Deakins - "The Reader" (AA nomination), "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "In the Valley of Elah," "No Country for Old Men," "House of Sand and Fog," "The Man Who Wasn't There" (AA nomination), "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (AA nomination), "Fargo" (AA nomination), "The Shawshank Redemption" (AA nomination)
• Stephen Goldblatt - "Charlie Wilson's War," "Rent," "Closer," "Batman & Robin," "The Pelican Brief," "Joe Versus the Volcano," "Lethal Weapon"
• Ellen Kuras - "The Ballad of Jack and Rose," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Coffee and Cigarettes," "Analyze That," "Blow," "4 Little Girls"
• Daryn Okada - "Apocalypto" (UK shoot), "Just Like Heaven," "Mean Girls," "Dr. Dolittle 2"
• Tami Reiker - "Pieces of April," "The Love Letter," "The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love"

• David Cronenberg - "Eastern Promises," "History of Violence," "Spider," "Naked Lunch," "Dead Ringers," "The Fly"
• Peter Jackson - "King Kong," "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Heavenly Creatures"
• Spike Lee - "Inside Man," "Bamboozled," "Summer of Sam," "4 Little Girls" (AA nomination [documentary]), "Jungle Fever," "Malcolm X," "Do the Right Thing" (AA nomination [screenplay])
• Mira Nair - "The Namesake," "Vanity Fair," "Monsoon Wedding," "The Perez Family," "Mississippi Masala"
• John Singleton - "Four Brothers," "2 Fast, 2 Furious," "Shaft," "Poetic Justice," "Boyz N the Hood" (AA nomination)
• Steven Spielberg - "Munich" (AA nomination), "War of the Worlds," "The Terminal," "Catch Me If You Can," "Saving Private Ryan" (AA win), "Jurassic Park," "Schindler's List" (AA win), "The Color Purple," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (AA nomination)
• Betty Thomas - "John Tucker Must Die," "28 Days," "Doctor Dolittle," "Private Parts," "The Brady Bunch Movie"

• R.J. Cutler - "A Perfect Candidate," "The War Room"
• Albert Maysles - "Sally Gross: The Pleasure of Stillness," "The Gates," "Grey Gardens," "Christo's Valley Curtain" (AA nomination), "Gimme Shelter," "Salesman," "Primary"
• Michael Moore - "Sicko," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Bowling for Columbine" (AA win), "Roger & Me"
• Stacy Peralta - "Made in America," "Riding Giants," "Dogtown and Z-Boys"
• Penelope Spheeris - "We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll," "Hollyweird," "The Decline of Western Civilization" (Parts I, II and III)
• Jessica Yu - "Protagonist", "In the Realms of the Unreal," "The Living Museum," "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien" (AA win)

• Jim Gianopulos - Chairman, Fox Filmed Entertainment
• Alan Horn - President and COO, Warner Bros. Entertainment
• Robert Iger - President and CEO, The Walt Disney Co.
• Steve Jobs - Chairman, Pixar Animation Studios
• Jeffrey Katzenberg - CEO and Director, DreamWorks Animation SKG
• Barry Meyer - President and CEO, Warner Bros. Entertainment
• Ron Meyer - President & CEO, Universal Studios
• Amy Pascal - Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group; Co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Sumner M. Redstone - Chairman, Viacom
• Tom Rothman, Chairman - Fox Filmed Entertainment
• Stacey Snider - CEO & Co-Chairman, DreamWorks SKG

• Richard Chew - "Bobby," "I Am Sam," "Waiting to Exhale," "Risky Business," "Star Wars" (AA win), "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" (AA nomination)
• Anne V. Coates - "The Golden Compass," "Unfaithful," "Erin Brockovich," "Out of Sight" (AA nomination), "In the Line of Fire" (AA nomination), "Murder on the Orient Express," "The Elephant Man" (AA nomination), "Becket" (AA nomination), "Lawrence of Arabia" (AA win)
• William Hoy - "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," "300," "Fantastic Four," "I, Robot," "Seven," "Patriot Games," "Dances With Wolves"
• Debra Neil-Fisher - "You, Me and Dupree," "Welcome to Mooseport," "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"
• Lee Percy - "The Ice Harvest," "Maria Full of Grace," "Boys Don't Cry," "Single White Female," "Reversal of Fortune"
• Thelma Schoonmaker - "The Departed" (AA win), "The Aviator" (AA win), "Gangs of New York" (AA nomination), "Good Fellas" (AA nomination), "Raging Bull" (AA win), "Woodstock" (AA nomination)

• Greg Cannom - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (AA win), "Van Helsing," "Ali," "A Beautiful Mind" (AA nomination), "Titanic" (AA nomination), "The Mask," "Mrs. Doubtfire" (AA win), "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (AA win), "Hoffa" (AA nomination), "Hook" (AA nomination)
• Valli O'Reilly - "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," "Stranger than Fiction," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (AA win), "Meet the Fockers," "Mars Attacks!," "The Joy Luck Club," "The Bodyguard"
• Robert Ryan - "Scary Movie 4," "Herbie Fully Loaded," "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Mulholland Falls," "The Butcher's Wife"
• Ronnie Specter - "Hairspray," "Stardust," "8 Mile," "Cast Away," "Air Force One," "The Age of Innocence," "Batman Returns" (AA nomination), "The Fabulous Baker Boys"

• Danny Elfman - "Milk" (AA nomination), "The Kingdom," "Meet the Robinsons," "Spider-Man," "Charlotte's Web," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," "Big Fish," (AA nomination) "Spy Kids," "Sleepy Hollow," "Good Will Hunting" (AA nomination), "Men in Black" (AA nomination), "Dolores Claiborne," "Dick Tracy"
• Elton John - "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King" (AA win), "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King" (AA nomination), "Hakuna Matata" from "The Lion King" (AA nomination)
• Philip Glass - "No Reservations," "The Illusionist," "Notes on a Scandal" (AA nomination), "The Hours" (AA nomination), "Naqoyqatsi," "Kundun" (AA nomination), "A Brief History of Time," "Powaqqatsi," "The Thin Blue Line," "Koyaanisqatsi"
• Rachel Portman - "Infamous," "Because of Winn-Dixie," "The Human Stain," "Chocolat" (AA nomination), "The Legend of Bagger Vance," "The Cider House Rules" (AA nomination), "Beloved," "Emma" (AA win), "Benny & Joon," "The Joy Luck Club"
• Gustavo Santaolalla - "Babel" (AA win), "Brokeback Mountain" (AA win)
• Bruce Springsteen - "Missing" from "The Crossing Guard," "Dead Man Walkin'" from "Dead Man Walking" (AA nomination), "Streets of Philadelphia" from "Philadelphia" (AA win), "Light of Day" from "Light of Day"
• John Williams - "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Catch Me If You Can" (AA nomination), "Schindler's List" (AA win), "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (AA win), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (AA nomination), "Star Wars" (AA win), "Jaws" (AA win), "Fiddler on the Roof" (AA win)

• Bonnie Arnold - "Over the Hedge," "Tarzan," "Toy Story," "Hero"
• Lawrence Bender - "An Inconvenient Truth," "The Chumscrubber," "Kill Bill - Vol. 1 and 2," "Good Will Hunting," "Pulp Fiction," "Reservoir Dogs"
• Jerry Bruckheimer - "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Black Hawk Down," "Pearl Harbor," "Remember the Titans," "Days of Thunder," "Top Gun," "Beverly Hills Cop"
• Gale Anne Hurd - "Aeon Flux," "The Hulk," "Clockstoppers," "Armageddon," "Dante's Peak," "Raising Cain," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "The Abyss," "The Terminator"
• Richard Sakai - "The Simpsons Movie," "Spanglish," "Riding in Cars with Boys," "Jerry Maguire" (AA nomination)
• Christine Vachon - "I'm Not There," "Infamous," "The Notorious Bettie Page," "Far from Heaven," "One Hour Photo," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Boys Don't Cry," "Velvet Goldmine," "I Shot Andy Warhol"
• Richard Zanuck - "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Road to Perdition," "Driving Miss Daisy" (AA win), "Cocoon," "The Verdict" (AA nomination), "Jaws" (AA nomination)

• Paul Bloch - Co-Chairman, Rogers & Cowan David Brooks, President of Marketing, Focus Features
• Eddie Egan - President of Marketing, Universal Pictures
• Sarah Greenberg - Co-President of Marketing, Lionsgate
• Dawn Taubin - President, Domestic Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures

• Andrea Arnold - "Red Road," "Wasp" (AA win), "Dog"
• Pia Clemente - "Whoo-Ya," "Our Time Is Up" (AA nomination), "The Debut"
• Kim Magnusson - "Helmer & Son" (AA nomination), "Election Night (Valgaften)" (AA win), "Wolfgang" (AA nomination), "Ernst & Lyset" (AA nomination)
• Ari Sandel - "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland," "West Bank Story" (AA win)

• Brad Bird - "Ratatouille" (AA win), "The Incredibles" (AA win), "The Iron Giant"
• Randy Cartwright - "Charlotte's Web," "The Polar Express," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Shrek," "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast"
• Torill Kove - "The Danish Poet" (AA win), "My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts" (AA nomination)
• Steve Oedekerk - "Barnyard," "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" (AA nomination)
• Nick Park - "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (AA win), "Chicken Run," "A Close Shave" (AA win), "The Wrong Trousers" (AA win), "A Grand Day Out" (AA nomination), "Creature Comforts" (AA win)
• Andreas Wessel-Therhorn - "Curious George," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Tarzan," "Hercules," "Space Jam"

• Anna Behlmer - "The Simpsons Movie," "Blades of Glory," "Blood Diamond" (AA nomination), "Miami Vice," "War of the Worlds" (AA nomination), "Moulin Rouge" (AA nomination), "L.A. Confidential" (AA nomination), "Braveheart" (AA nomination)
• Lucy Coldsnow-Smith - "Million Dollar Baby," "Down with Love," "Mystic River," "Dude, Where's My Car?," "The Replacements," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," "Indecent Proposal"
• Julia Evershade - "The Matrix Reloaded," "The Matrix Revolutions," "8 Mile," "Swordfish," "The Matrix," "The Fifth Element," "The Two Jakes," "Top Gun"
• Doc Kane - "Ratatouille," "Cars," "Home on the Range," "The Incredibles" (AA nomination), "Finding Nemo," "Lilo & Stitch," "A Bug's Life," "Aladdin" (AA nomination), "Beauty and the Beast" (AA nomination)
• Chris Newman - "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "Neil Young Heart of Gold," "Primary Colors," "The English Patient" (AA win), "Philadelphia," "The Silence of the Lambs" (AA nomination), "A Chorus Line" (AA nomination), "Amadeus" (AA win), "The Exorcist" (AA win)

• Jerome Chen - "Beowulf," "The Polar Express," "Stuart Little" (AA nomination), "Godzilla"
• Walt Conti - "Failure to Launch," "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "Cast Away," "The Perfect Storm" (AA nomination), "Free Willy 3: The Rescue," "The Abyss," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
• Theresa Ellis - "Martian Child," "Meet the Robinsons," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "X-Men"
• Pablo Helman - "Munich," "Jarhead," "War of the Worlds" (AA nomination), "The Bourne Supremacy," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," "Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones" (AA nomination)
• Dennis Muren - "War of the Worlds" (AA nomination), "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (AA nomination), "Jurassic Park" (AA win), "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (AA win), "The Abyss" (AA win), "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (AA win), "Return of the Jedi" (AA win)

• Bill Condon - "Dreamgirls," "Kinsey," "Chicago" (AA nomination), "Gods and Monsters"(AA win)
• Sofia Coppola - "Marie Antoinette," "Lost in Translation" (AA win), "The Virgin Suicides"
• Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - "The Lives of Others," "The Crusader," "Mitternacht"
• Nora Ephron - "Bewitched," "You've Got Mail," "Sleepless in Seattle" (AA nomination), "When Harry Met Sally" (AA nomination), "Silkwood" (AA nomination)
• Julian Fellowes - "Separate Lies," "Vanity Fair," "Godsford Park" (AA win)
• Susannah Grant - "Catch and Release," "Charlotte's Web," "In Her Shoes," "Erin Brockovich" (AA nomination), "Ever After," "Pocahontas"
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - "Jefferson in Paris," "The Remains of the Day" (AA nomination), "Howards End" (AA win), "A Room with a View" (AA win)
• Quentin Tarantino - "Inglourious Basterds" (AA nomination), "Kill Bill - Vol. 2," "Kill Bill - Vol. 1," "Jackie Brown," "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Pulp Fiction" (AA win), "Reservoir Dogs"
• Steven Zaillian - "American Gangster," "Gangs of New York" (AA nomination), "Black Hawk Down," "Mission: Impossible," "Clear and Present Danger," "Schindler's List" (AA win), "Awakenings" (AA nomination)

Elvis Presley won three Grammy awards, all in the Gospel genre!

# How Great Thou Art - Best Sacred Performance (1967) # He Touched Me - Best Inspirational Performance (1972) # How Great Thou Art - Best Inspirational Performance (Non-Classical) (1974) (source: www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners )

Elvis' first recording was in 1954 with Sun Records. Some of his best work was recorded early in his career, before the Grammys awards were introduced in 1958. That was the year Elvis entered the U.S. Army. After completing his two years of service, he was focused on Hollywood. He did not get serious about his music again until the late 60's.