Oscar-Winning Ladies 2000-2009

Hilary Swank poses with her Oscar for best actress in a leading role in "Boys Don't Cry" during the 72nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 26, 2000. In the film Swank portrayed Brandon Teena, a transgendered teen who preferred life in a male identity.

Supporting Actress Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie took home an Oscar during the 2001 telecast of the Academy Awards for her role in "Girl, Interrupted." In the film Jolie portrayed Lisa Rowe, a sociopathic run away patient who befriends Susanna (Winona Ryder) the newcomer to the mental institution.

2001: Actress Julia Roberts

Best actress Julia Roberts and best actor Russell Crowe pose with their awards at the 73rd annual Academy Awards, Sunday, March 25, 2001 in Los Angeles. Roberts took home her Oscar for her role as Erin Brockovich, a single mother turned legal assistant who manages to almost single-handely take down a California power company.

Supporting Actress Marica Gay Harden

Marcia Gay Harden took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress during the 2001 telecast of the Academy Awards. Harden won her Oscar for her role in "Pollock" as Lee Krasner, an artist who puts her career on hold to take care of husband American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock.

2002: Actress Halle Berry

Halle Berry raises up the Oscar she won for Best Actress for her work in "Monster's Ball" at the 74th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 24, 2002, in Los Angeles. In the film Berry portrayed Leticia Musgrove, a young woman struggling to make ends meet. She falls in love with racist death row prison guard Hank (Billy Bob Thorton), who, ironically, excuted Musgrove's husband.

Supporting Actress Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress during the 2002 Academy Award telecast. She won her award for her role as Alicia Nash in the Ron Howard directed film "A Beautiful Mind." In the film, Alicia is the wife of troubled mathematical genius Forbes Nash, Jr.

2003: Actress Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman took home the Oscar for Best Actres during the 2003 Academy Awards. Kidman won the award for her role as novelist Virginia Woolf in the film "The Hours." Kidman's part of the film is set in 1923 when the ailing Woolf was writing her novel "Mrs. Dolloway."

Supporting Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jone took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress during the 2003 Academy Awards for her role in the musical "Chicago." In the film, based on the hit Broadway musical, she portrayed Velma Kelly, a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after discovering them in bed together.

2004: Actress Charlize Theron

Oscar winners Charlize Theron, left, Tim Robbins, center, and Sean Penn leave the stage after the end of the show at the 76th annual Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004, in Los Angeles. Theron took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute turned serial killer in "Monster."