Via: NYDailyNews.com
From up-and-comers to serious contenders, these nominees are moving from the minor leagues to the threshold of stardom.
Anna Kendrick
Age: 24
Hometown: Portland, Maine
Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, “Up in the Air”
Character: Natalie, a perkier-than-instant-coffee Cornell grad out to eliminate the job of a professional downsizer (George Clooney)
You may know her from: “Twilight,” “New Moon”
Where you’ll see her next: Returning to the role of spiteful Jessica Stanley in “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”
Carey Mulligan
Age: 24
Hometown: London
Nomination: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), “An Education”
Character: Jenny, a smart but romantically naive ’60s schoolgirl
You may know her from: “Pride & Prejudice,” “Public Enemies,” Broadway’s “The Seagull”
Where you’ll see her next: As one of a group of friends sharing a dark secret in the futuristic drama “Never Let Me Go”
Emily Blunt
Age: 26
Hometown: London
Nomination: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), “The Young Victoria”
Character: The twentysomething English monarch
You may know her from: “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Where you’ll see her next: As the love interest of a cursed aristocrat (Benicio Del Toro) in “The Wolfman”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Age: 28
Hometown: Los Angeles
Nomination: Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), “(500) Days of Summer”
Character: Tom, a lovesick architect-turned-greeting card writer
You may know him from: “10 Things I Hate About You,” TV’s “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Mysterious Skin”
Where you’ll see him next: As a greasy-haired loner romancing a beauty (Natalie Portman) in “Hesher” and opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page in the CIA thriller “Inception”
Gabourey (Gabby) Sidibe
Age: 26
Hometown: New York
Nomination: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Character: Tragic but ultimately triumphant Harlem teenager Claireece (Precious) Jones
You may know her from: You don’t! This is her first movie.
Where you’ll see her next: As one of three sisters trying to survive a tough New York neighborhood in the drama “Yelling to the Sky”
