Awarded to the actress deemed by Cosmo voters to have achieved the best
performance in a supporting role an eligible 2003 film.
Cosmo voters must carefully decide whether the performance was in
a leading or supporting capacity. It is theoretically possible for an
actress to be nominated in both leading and supporting categories for
the same performance if the Academy voters seem divided about their
interpretation of the role (as they did with Richard Gere in Chicago).
Also Considered:
Patricia Arquette for Holes; Kathy Baker for
Cold Mountain; Cate Blanchett for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Emma Bolger for
In America; Sarah Bolger for In America; Keisha Castle-Hughes for
Whale Rider; Patricia Clarkson for Pieces of April; Marcia Gay Harden for
Mystic River; Holly Hunter for Thirteen; Anna Kendrick for
Camp; Laura Linney for Mystic River; Alison Lohman for
Matchstick Men; Natasha Lyonne for Die, Mommie, Die!; Emma Thompson for
Love Actually; Liv Tyler for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Julie Walters for
Calendar Girls; and Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain