Drum roll please. I proudly present to you the Best Actress Nominees for the 2012 MAJOR Awards! These are the five actresses who made the biggest impression in a starring role this year!

Click through to see who the nominees are!

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Jessica Chastain
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Resolute, aggressive, brave, confident. Chastain’s Maya is one of the central figures in the CIA’s efforts to find Osama Bin laden. She perserveres through attempts on her life, inflexible superiors, and the passage of time. Her steadfast determination is one of the key reasons that Bin Laden was eventually tracked down. Chastain brings all of that to life in a fascinating, impressive way onscreen.

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Jennifer Lawrence
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Insane? Yeah, a little bit. Jennifer Lawrence’s Tiffany is a young woman unbalanced by tragedy, slowly trying to regain her footing and move forward again. When she meets another slightly touched individual (Bradley Cooper), the two hesitantly try to relate to each other in a normal manner. Aggressive and unstable, yet vulnerable, Lawrence’s funny, touching performance helped make “Silver Linings” the year’s feel good hit.

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Helen Mirren
“Hitchcock”

Mirren’s Alma Reville faces aging, neglect from her husband, and perhaps most of all, the desire to work and be valued. Mirren imparts her with the requisite intelligence, wit, and grace to make you empathize with her and root for her. She becomes every bit as central to the film as Hitchcock (Hopkins) himself. Together the two of them provide fascinating performances that enliven what otherwise might be a dull film.

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Quvenzhané Wallis
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Six years old (at the time of filming)? So what. Wallis puts forward an undeniable, memorable onscreen performance. Indominable, tough, and courageous, but at the same time, still a sweet young child. Wallis’ Hushpuppy is one of the most unfrogettable characters of the year. “Southern Wild” is a captivating, powerful film… but it owes much of that to the incredible work of this young girl.

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Naomi Watts
“The Impossible”

In “The Impossible”, it falls to Watts and young Tom Holland to actually show what it was like to be IN the devestating Tsunami the film revolves around. After, her character shows her fortitude in getting them to saftey, then slowly weakens as her fight for life enters a new phase. Watts will put you through all of it. She’s absolutely incredible in this moving, emotional picture.

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So, what do you think? Who did I snub? Anyone here whose performance you weren’t fond of? Which of these ladies is most deserving of the award?!

Let us hear it!