She's the Best Actress in more ways than one. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best moments in Cate Blanchett’s career that turned her from an Australian actor into the queen of the industry.
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00:00Kate, Kate of the clenched-jawed headburns, enchanting as always."
00:04Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best moments in Kate
00:08Blanchett's career that turned her from an Australian actor into the queen of the industry.
00:13"'Kate, your temperament is much more that of an actor and less of a movie star.
00:18Do you think that an Oscar or…?"
00:19"'Oh darling, you've caught me on the wrong day.'"
00:2110.
00:23The Machiavellian Vegetarian Plan
00:25In 2016, news broke that Blanchett was doing some DIY by building a pig pen.
00:31Since then, she's spoken about the real reasons for getting the critters, a Machiavellian
00:35Vegetarian Plan.
00:36"'I thought if we had pigs, I would get the kids to bond with the pigs, and I would, if
00:41so facto, turn my kids into vegetarians.'"
00:44For Interview magazine in 2019, when talking to Julia Roberts, Blanchett mentioned her
00:49plan to convert her kids into a plant-diet diet.
00:53She wanted them to get attached to the farmyard animals, then, when the pigs perished, giving
00:57her kids sausages from them.
00:59However, it was unsuccessful as they coped with that revelation just fine.
01:03"'They said, the pigs are at the top, and I thought, this is the moment, they're all
01:07gonna be vegetarians.
01:08And I went, do we have any ketchup?''
01:10In 2024, Blanchett retold the tale on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
01:15She also brought up the darkly amusing detail that the pigs were named after a cigarette
01:19brand.
01:20"'They were called Benson & Hedges, because my husband said, we're gonna smoke them.'"
01:24Number 9.
01:25Oscar Playtime
01:26After watching the first How to Train Your Dragon with her kids, Blanchett had to sign
01:30up to be Hiccup's mother, Valka, in the 2014 sequel.
01:33"'Oh, and I'm up here, I don't even feel a cold, I just feel free.'"
01:40During a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, the Aussie was asked by a journalist
01:45if she would let her kids play with her Oscars.
01:48Without missing a beat, Blanchett replied with laid-back good humor,
01:50"'Every day, mummy sits them down, and I get my two Oscars out, and I let them stroke them
01:56for 15 minutes before they go to school.
01:58Now we know if they're good.'"
02:00During the same conference, another journalist invited Blanchett to Bangladesh.
02:04She enthusiastically agreed, and then quipped she would show his wife how to train her dragon.
02:09"'How do you like training your dragon?''
02:10"'We should probably have this conversation in private, I think.'"
02:13Number 8.
02:14Improvising with Fallon
02:15"'When you go out, like on the street, you're here in New York, you go out to restaurants,
02:18you love…'
02:19"'Oh no, I'm an actress, I don't eat.'"
02:21To keep the interview fresh on his show, The Tonight Show has the segment Emotional Interviews,
02:26where Jimmy Fallon and guests have to improvise a conversation before a ding gives them new
02:31criteria.
02:32In 2017, Blanchett was in the hot seat.
02:34She showed her comedic range right off the bat by slamming Fallon as exes who just ran
02:38into each other with subtle insults.
02:40"'You okay?
02:41I mean, I…'
02:42"'I've never been better, I just, I'm so happy…'
02:43"'My friends have been calling me and saying, you know…'
02:45"'I'm so happy.
02:46I mean, my friends are texting me…'
02:48"'Have you had some work done?''
02:49On top of fake laughing like someone in terrible pain, and giving bad advice about getting
02:54a perm, Blanchett took a few digs at the presidency of Donald Trump, drawing applause from the
02:59audience.
03:00"'I mean, how many times has he been bankrupt?''
03:08Number 7.
03:09A lesson we didn't know we needed.
03:10"'Today I went on Ellen's show and boy was it…'
03:13"'Ugh, embarrassing.'
03:14"'No, it's not.
03:15You're always…'
03:16"'It was fun!'
03:17"'It was fun.'"
03:18In 2018, Blanchett went on to The Ellen DeGeneres Show and played the pun-tastic game Fill in
03:25the Blanchett.
03:26When responding to Diamonds Aren't a Girl's Best Friend, blank, R, the actor responded
03:30with, "'Roller coasters!''
03:32But she added an important caveat.
03:34"'Roller coasters are a girl's best friend?'
03:37"'Yeah.
03:38All right.
03:39If you're wearing underwear.'
03:41Blanchett explained her stance by saying when people go to the park, they can look up at
03:45the roller coaster.
03:46There's a possibility they'll see a lot more than they intended if the person on the ride
03:49is going commando.
03:50We definitely noted that.
03:52However, with DeGeneres' bemused reaction, Blanchett was thinking twice about her tangent.
03:56"'It seemed like a good idea, but I really regret this.'"
04:01Number 6.
04:02Disney villain gaze.
04:03"'Oh, now you're signing.
04:05It's actually easy to understand you.
04:07We feel like we're from the same culture, but we're just not.'"
04:11In a move that launched a meme in 2015, when promoting her work in Cinderella, the Aussie
04:15sat down with Andrew Freund during the press junket.
04:18He asked Blanchett about the Disney villain gaze, as in, staring.
04:22However, she was confused and heard, "'Gaze' as in, G, in LGBTQIA+.
04:28Once she realized and explained her confusion, she threw in a limp wrist, which made Blanchett
04:32go viral.
04:33"'Oh, you mean the gaze.
04:35Not the gaze.'
04:37"'I didn't know.
04:38Well, Lady Tremaine, maybe if she was gay, maybe she would have been happier.'"
04:41During the same junket, while talking to Rotten Tomatoes, Blanchett discussed the chore she
04:46despises.
04:47In a hilarious anecdote, she explains her hatred of clearing up her dog's poop after
04:51being traumatized as a kid.
04:52At one point, the bag was the size of a toddler.
04:54"'I had the raining stuff at the bottom, and then they had the stuff that had been
04:58there for three weeks.
04:59I picked it.
05:00But it, that's my trauma.'"
05:03Number 5.
05:04Blasting onto the world stage.
05:06We know what you're thinking.
05:08When did the reign of Blanchett begin?
05:10Well, back in 1998.
05:12She starred in the title role in Elizabeth.
05:14"'Forgive me, madam, but you're only a woman.'
05:16"'I may be a woman, Sir William, but if I choose, I have the heart of a man.
05:25I am my father's daughter.
05:28I am not afraid of anything.'"
05:30Set during the rise of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland, the Aussie's phenomenal
05:35work catapulted her into stardom as film critics rained down praise for her.
05:39As a result, Blanchett ended up winning a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role
05:43and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.
05:47"'This is common sense, which is a most English virtue.'"
05:54She also got an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
05:57On top of this, when Blanchett reprised the role for 2007's Elizabeth, The Golden Age,
06:01she became the first woman to be nominated for an Oscar for portraying the same character
06:06in different films.
06:07"'And when this day of battle is ended, we meet again in heaven, or on the field of victory.'"
06:214.
06:22Oscar record breaker
06:232021 was a stellar year in Blanchett's career.
06:26Blanchett appeared in not one, but two films that were nominated at the Oscars for Best
06:30Picture.
06:31"'Tell them everything we did.'
06:32"'Did what?'
06:33"'Tell me.'
06:34"'We did it together.'
06:35"'I'm sorry, Mr. Carlyle, but have we met anywhere other than this office?'
06:42Firstly, she was in Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, alongside Bradley Cooper.
06:47Then Blanchett followed it up in the satirical hit Don't Look Up.
06:50"'She really thought I loved you.'"
06:51"'Really?
06:52Wow.
06:53That's wild.'"
06:54While Blanchett didn't win anything personally, the nominations alone set her up as an Oscar
07:05record breaker.
07:06Since 1949, Olivia de Havilland, of Gone With the Wind fame, has held the record of a female
07:12actor who's starred in the most Oscar nominations for Best Picture with nine projects.
07:17Blanchett took over the record with nine so far.
07:20"'Is that French?'
07:23"'Yes, it is.
07:26It means the angels soar to the heavens.'"
07:323.
07:34Queen of Self-Deprecating Humor
07:35We knew we were in for a treat when Hoda Kotb introduced the segment as she suppressed
07:39laughter.
07:40In 2018, Blanchett and Sarah Paulson arrived on Today to promote their work in Ocean's
07:458.
07:46Kotb had little to do as the magic between the pair, who were channeling sister energy,
08:04did all the work.
08:05Making one joke after another as they mocked themselves and each other, the host was cry-laughing
08:09throughout, causing her mascara to run.
08:22The chaos of the segment was amazing, as Blanchett sat on Paulson's knee, and the two jested
08:27about their Oscar and Emmy awards.
08:29Some argued the duo barely promoted the film, however, we'd retort watching their chemistry
08:33made us want to see it.
08:352.
08:51First Oscar Win and Becoming a Pioneer
08:53After missing out on her first Oscar after 1998's Elizabeth, she finally got the chance
08:58to take the famous golden statue home after her performance in 2004's The Aviator.
09:04Based on the life of Howard Hughes, Blanchett was cast as Katharine Hepburn.
09:15Her in-depth research and mimicking the legend's mannerisms led to the Aussie actor receiving
09:20a mountain of praise for her work.
09:22As such, Blanchett picked up an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
09:39Blanchett's win was more than reaching the top of her industry.
09:42She also made history by becoming the first to receive an Oscar for portraying an Oscar-winning
09:46female actor, as Hepburn had won four during her illustrious career.
09:50Blanchett was the first Australian to win this category.
10:211.
10:22First Best Actress Oscar and Another Record
10:25It's not just the supporting role that garners Blanchett with awards.
10:29After her standout performance in 2013's Blue Jasmine, she was set to leave a massive legacy
10:33in the industry once again.
10:50At the 86th Academy Awards, Blanchett took home the prestigious Best Actress award.
10:56As a result, she became the first Australian female actor to win both categories at the
11:00Oscars.
11:01On top of that, at the time of writing, Blanchett's the only Aussie to have won two acting Oscars.
11:20On the Ellen DeGeneres Show after the ceremony, the actor stated that she took her Best Actress
11:25award to bed with her.
11:32If a current actor was to portray Cate Blanchett in a biopic, who would you cast?
11:37Jennifer Lawrence?
11:38Margot Robbie?
11:39Amanda Seyfried?
11:40Or someone else?
11:41Let us know below!