Renée Zellweger is SAG's Favorite Film Actress
Monday, January 20, 2020 at 4:30PM 
Last night's win by Renée Zellweger for her performance in Judy marks her third individual SAG award. She has won previously for Chicago (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003). On the film side she matches Daniel Day Lewis as the two most lauded actors by the Screen Actors Guild. Day Lewis won his awards for Gangs of New York (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Lincoln (2012).
There are five other actresses who are right behind Zellweger with two individual film awards. And none of them are called Meryl Streep. Steeep has two as well though one is for TV. She won for Doubt (2008) and Angels in America (2003). These are the actresses who could match or leapfrog Zellweger soon...
Helen Mirren, won for Gosford Park (2001) and The Queen (2006)
Kate Winslet, won for Sense and Sensibility (1995) and The Reader (2008)
Cate Blanchett, won for The Aviator (2004) and Blue Jasmine (2013)
Viola Davis, won for The Help (2011) and Fences (2016)
Frances McDormand, won for Fargo (1996) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2017)
We did not factor in winners from ensembles, though most of these actresses have won at least one there too. Zellweger for Chicago, Mirren for Gosford Park, Blanchett for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Davis for The Help and McDormand for Three Billboards.
What do you think of Zellweger's SAG track record?
Reader Comments (33)
Streep would have more if the SAG awards had not begun in 1994....
I found it hard to listen to Renee's speech suggesting that, by bestowing the prize on her work in JUDY, the acting community is indirectly honoring Garland. How nice it would have been for her to acknowledge the sad truth that Judy Garland never won a competitive Oscar for her work as an actress while many other actresses of lesser talent received their share of recognition. As an actress who has won three competitive SAG awards, Renee could remind people of the many great actors who never won competitive awards (Garland wasn't alone in this category) and then give a shout-out to them, their brilliance, and the fact that those who fail to receive recognition may be the ones whose work will be ultimately remembered as eternal. And, who knows, cap that sentiment by encouraging her fellow-actors to look harder, dig deeper, and be more generous in terms of who they choose to nominate in the future.
You missed out Helen Mirren who won for Gosford Park and The Queen
Jamie, good point.
You missed Helen Mirren for "Gosford Park" and "The Queen" and Viola Davis for "The Help" and "Fences".....
Happy for Renee, two of those are well deserved and worthy wins.
I have to disagree with davide. I don’t think Renee is using it being a prize for Judy to help her win awards. She is simply paying tribute to the person she played as all actors do when they win their awards for biopics. Anne Hathaway was attached to a Judy biopic one at point, imagine the speeches she’d be delivering if she were up there.
You missed Helen Mirren and Viola Davis!
unleaded - updated, thanks. How could I forget mirren who's probably sag overall fave actress as she has two for tv .
jamie and brandz - sure re streep, the point though with sag is that they started in 1994. So this shows which actresses have benn popular with awards in the last 3 decades.
Davide if you wanna copy and paste why not preface and acknowledge?
Cray
I'm ok with her Lead wins but not the 2003 supporting one,her speeches are all over the place.
I guess if anyone's going to be first to 3 it would be Meryl then one of the 2 Kate's.
They snubbed Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years and Marion Cotillard in Deux jours, une nuit so we can all agree they don't have the best taste.
Murtada -- thanks for this. I really didn't realize who was out front and its fascinating that she is. I do wonder if Kate Winslet can rally for another round of popularity. I wish she would.
Keegan --
I apologize if my message wasn't sufficiently clear. I don't think Renee is using her work in JUDY to win awards. In her speech, Renee said
"Judy Garland, 50 years later, your community is thinking of you tonight!" She then described Garland as one of the "most beloved" performers, adding. "This is for you!"
To me, there is a level of inescapable irony, in light of the fact that Garland's was never recognized by her industry peers with an Academy award. That is why I suggested that it might be appropriate to invite her "community" to actually reflect on what that means.
And Cray: yes, I copied and pasted the comments from another thread into this one because they seemed appropriate here. But the comments in the other thread were my own.
Renee probably spent several years getting rid of that Texas accent & in 2020 it is coming right back. Did y'all hear that?
I found Renee to be quite annoying last night. Her speech at the Golden Globes was horrific. It was self-aggrandizing and boring. Last night, it's like she tried to revert to being someone different. Her accent seemed very forced. It was as if she was trying to play a more down-to-earth character. I find her acting wooden and terrible. I love the movie Chicago, but she is the worst part of it.
Thank God none of them are called Meryl Streep!
Renee will win her 2nd Oscar.
Cate Blanchett will get her 3rd SAG.
Amen.
I finally saw Judy. Its not perfect but Renee is so heartfelt as Judy!! I dun get the hate fr Judy stan?? It's a nice n respectful tribute n she got all the tics n mannerisms down pat!!
She may not exactly look or sound like Judy, but she channels the essence o a down n out icon in her last days, superbly!!
She totally deserves the win!! U go, Renee!! 3 more televised speeches to go!! Yay ✌
Streep, Close, and Bates have the same one film prize one TV prize record at SAG. And I sincerely think Close is a threat to close the deal in supporting beating Streep to a 2nd film prize with them.
This is such an example of how the Oscar-predictive nature of the SAGs diminishes their legacy. If Zellweger already had 2 Oscars, she wouldn't be winning a 3rd, because oscar history has an impact on oscar present.
But SAG has no sense of it's own history. Does anyone make a big deal if someone, like say Nicole Kidman, is overdue for a SAG? She'll win when it's time for her 2nd oscar, and not before. If the SAGs cared about their legacy, they could have made an independent decision yesterday. But now Renee has her third Actor, and no one really knows.
"Lincoln" is 2012 and "Doubt" 2008.
Good for her. I don’t get the excessive bitterness and overanalyisis her every breath is getting this season by the majority here.
Mike in Canada - SAG has given Nicole extra nominations for The Paperboy and Bombshell. They like her well enough. Shit, even when demoted to a TV movie, the nominated Grace of Monaco.
I'll remember her as the robber queen. The year she was nominated for Bridget Jones at the Oscars she took the spot of a brilliant Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, this year she will win the Oscar that Lupita deserves.
P. S. Blanchett giving hand to the Actor is wonderful
Jim - There is overanalysis and bitterness every year about the actress and supporting actress winners here unless a universally beloved "overdue" actress takes the crown (Viola and Julianne were fairly uncontroversial). Take a look at some of the comments regarding Laura Dern. Renee's march to her second Oscar has actually been relatively quiet on TFE.
Reasonable minds can differ on whether Renee is a great actress. I happen to think she is. But she is divisive, as some performers are.
That said, there's no denying that she is a creature of awards season. You can't separate the highs and lows of her career from the highs and lows conferred by HFPA/AMPAS/BAFTA/etc. She's been exceptionally lucky and exceptionally good at campaigning for awards.
Angelina Jolie (who I think is a bad actress, though some people enjoy her) is in a similar boat. For her a true "comeback" (if she ever gets one) will mean winning a second competitive Oscar.
I think Zellweger and Jolie are both great actresses. But the bigger awards rely too much on gimmicky biopic roles and it's getting unbearable.
Zellwegger gives such bizarre acceptance speaches-they make no sense and are really just weird ramblings. Her Oscar win for Cold Mountain was ridiculous...
It's all About the Timing. Interesting enough that most actresses (except McDormand and Blanchett) lost the Oscar after their first SAG win!
It's pretty obvious Meryl will win another SAG once she's a frontrunner again.
I like her performance in Doubt, though it's a rare case in where I love a film more than her Performance. Her REACTION of the win for Doubt is the greatest moment in her awards time EVER.
And AiA is a masterpiece! I'm happy she swept that year deservingly.
Of course, The Film Experience had to attack Streep. Every article now contains a bit of Streep hatred. A pity.
Zooey - it's not Streep hatred. She's the most awarded at the Oscars, it's interesting to point out that she's not at the SAGs.
I know we are talking solely film, but Halle Berry has two as well. One for "Monster's Ball" and one for "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge".
What I think RZ is awkwardly doing with her Texas twang is to show that a down home country girl transformed herself into a singing legend at her lowest point. We know your background, so it doesn’t seem so necessary to show/remind everyone of the ‘big leap.’
I have no problem with Renée herself. I am not into popularity contests. I love her comedy work and I would have given her an Oscar for the long monologue in DOWN WITH LOVE alone. It's a pity though that everybody seems head ober heels for Joaquin, while ignoring Loupita. Hers is a performance for the ages imho.
Lupita Nyong’o should’ve just committed category fraud and sent Supporting...