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"Viola? Rooney? Meryl? With such a talented pool of leading ladies, it&amp;apos;s tough to predict who will take home the industry&amp;apos;s top honor at the 84th Annual Academy Awards (airing this Sunday at 7 PM on ABC.) Us Weekly breaks it down for you--just in time to dominate your office Oscars pool!\r\n\r\nGlenn Close, Albert Nobbs\r\nThis year, Close, 64, received a nod for her role as a lonely, cross-dressing waiter living in nineteenth-century Ireland. Though the Damages star has won three Tonys, three Emmys, two Golden Globes, and received six Oscar nominations, she has yet to take home a golden statue. But Close assures Us she&amp;apos;s going into her big night as relaxed as possible. &amp;quot;It feels great,&amp;quot; Close says. &amp;quot;We birthed [the film], now it&amp;apos;s out in the world. We have no control over it anymore.&amp;quot; Close is especially proud of her incredible transformation. &amp;quot;Everyday was about 2 hours of getting ready,&amp;quot; she shares. &amp;quot;Every time I looked at the mirror after getting made up, I was completely shocked! I didn&amp;apos;t recognize myself at all.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nViola Davis, The Help\r\nDavis, 46, stole the show as Aibileen Clark, who opens up to a young writer in her town about the harsh realities of life as an African American housemaid in the Deep South in 1962. Movie insiders agree the Extremely Loud &amp;amp; Incredibly Close star is this year&amp;apos;s clear front-runner; Oscars analyst Tom O&amp;apos;Neil (of GoldDerby.com) puts her odds at 1 to 1, though he admits Skeeter (played by Emma Stone) is technically the film&amp;apos;s lead. This is Davis&amp;apos; second Academy Award nomination, and her first nod for &amp;quot;Actress in a Leading Role.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;It&amp;#x2019;s been extraordinary,&amp;quot; Davis told Us earlier this month of the recognition she&amp;apos;s gotten for Aibileen. &amp;quot;That&amp;apos;s the only word I can think of...extraordinary!&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nRooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo\r\nAs research assistant Lisbeth Salander, Mara (whose older sister is American Horror Story&amp;apos;s Kate Mara) abandoned her safe, girl-next-door image by dying her hair jet black and piling on the piercings. Prior to playing Lisbeth, Mara, 26, had starred in a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and played Erica in The Social Network--otherwise known as the girl who dumps Mark Zuckerberg in the film&amp;apos;s opening scene. Despite Salander&amp;apos;s tough girl ways, Mara tells Us she didn&amp;apos;t have any trouble connecting with the role. &amp;quot;Erica always felt more foreign to me than Lisbeth ever did,&amp;quot; Mara admits. &amp;quot;She was always a character I really understood. The way she moves through the world, and sort of goes unnoticed...I think we&amp;apos;re both similar [too] in that we both like to investigate every facet of something before we are ready to reveal ourselves to the world.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nMeryl Streep, The Iron Lady\r\nThis is Streep&amp;apos;s seventeenth Oscar nomination over the span of her nearly four decades-long career (she won twice: in 1979, for Kramer vs. Kramer, and again in 1982 for Sophie&amp;apos;s Choice). This time around, Streep, 62, has received acclaim for her portrayal of an aging Margaret Thatcher. While reviews of the flick itself were mixed, critics almost universally praised Streep&amp;apos;s performance. &amp;quot;I was amazed by all the things that were set against her success,&amp;quot; Streep told Us of learning to admire the controversial Prime Minister. &amp;quot;Even though you might not agree with her politics, she did a huge service to women around the world.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nMichelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn\r\n&amp;quot;There was a responsibility in playing Marilyn Monroe that was new and terrifying,&amp;#x201D; Williams, 31, told reporters at a press conference for her film. &amp;quot;It was probably more challenging than anything else I have attempted.&amp;quot; Though critics weren&amp;apos;t enthusiastic about My Week with Marilyn&amp;apos;s plot, Williams dazzled audiences everywhere as the legendary (and extremely troubled) film star. Although she received a Golden Globe for her efforts, insiders place her odds at 9 to 1 (behind Viola Davis and Meryl Streep.) &amp;quot;She&amp;apos;s young,&amp;quot; says Johnny Avello, the executive director of race and sports operations at the Wynn Las Vegas. &amp;quot;[But] she&amp;apos;ll be a favorite to win best actress in a year or two.&amp;quot;\r\nTell Us: Who should win this year&amp;#x2019;s Best Actress Oscar?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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