Meet the 2017 Academy Awards Nominees: Best Actress in a Leading Role

This year's Best Actress in a Leading Role category is filled with some beautifully passionate, heartbreakingly funny, and devastatingly human performances. Before the Academy Award winner is announced on February 26th, get to know these unbelievable ladies!

Next up: Best Actress in a Leading Role

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Meet Isabelle Huppert

Elle

Hometown: Paris, France

Training: Versailles Conservatoire, National Conservatory of Dramatic Art of Paris

Big Break: A celebrated French actress, Isabelle has appeared in over 100 French and foreign films and you might recognize her in American movies like "I Heart Huckabees" (2004) and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" (2013).

Fun Fact: She is the Meryl Streep of France. She has been nominated 16 times for the Cesar Award (France's biggest film award), making her the most nominated actress.

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Meet Ruth Negga

Loving

Hometown: Addis Adaba, Ethiopia

Training: Trinity College in Dublin (BA in Acting Studies)

Big Break: Prior to "Loving," Ruth worked mostly in theatre and TV/film in London and Ireland. You may recognize her from the TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.