Bow down to newly crowned Best Actress winner Olivia Colman. Not only did her portrait of sickly rabbit-enthusiast Queen Anne deny this year’s presumed heir to that throne, now seven-time Oscar loser Glenn Close, from claiming the title. But at age 45, “The Favourite” star became the youngest female winner ever to claim the gold as a monarch.
Her predecessors? Katharine Hepburn, who was 61 when she won her third of four Academy Awards as Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen consort opposite Peter O’Toole‘s King Henry II in 1968’s “The Lion in Winter.” Alas, she had to share the honor with an interloper, Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl,” when a rare tie in voting was declared.
Years later, it was Dame Judi Dench’s turn to rule at age 63 in a supporting role as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love.” The theater veteran managed to maximize her minimal eight minutes of screen time as she made such still timely pronouncements as, “I know something of a woman in a man’s profession. Yes, by God, I do know about that.”
Last but far from least, Dame Helen Mirren, then 61, turned down her usual radiance and was ascendant in the title role of Queen Elizabeth II as she copes with the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
SEE 2019 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 91st Academy Awards
Colman’s royal duties are far from over, however. She had barely time to campaign for her win as she was shooting the third season of the Netflix historical drama “The Crown.” She is taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy – who won an Emmy as the young adult version of the monarch. Perhaps Colman, who was previously up for an Emmy as a pregnant spy in the 2016 miniseries “The Night Manager,” should maybe invest in a bigger trophy cabinet as she stars in the series for the next two seasons.
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