Red Carpet
2022 Oscars Predictions: T&C's Most Anticipated Red Carpet Arrivals
Now that the 94th Academy Award nominations have been announced, T&C looks to the A-listers we're most excited to see on the red carpet come March 27.
For seasoned Tinseltown veterans and rising cinematic talents alike, no night is as important as Oscar night. Sure, the Golden Globes are (or rather, they used to be) fun and merry, and the guild prizes carry a lot of credibility, but the Academy Awards are on a stratum above the rest, those gleaming gold statuettes offering entry into Hollywood's most exclusive clique. With the recent announcement of the nominations for this year's ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, March 27, now is the perfect time to catch up on the films deemed worthy by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, from The Power of the Dog and Dune, to Belfast and West Side Story. And in between planning watch parties and predicting winners, we at T&C have begun daydreaming about the A-list stars we're most excited to see on that red carpet. A sampling of our wishlist, below.
Rita Moreno
At 90 years old, Rita Moreno (pictured here at last year's ceremony) is still as vivacious as ever. In 2018, she cemented her status as quite possibly the OG of Oscar red carpet OGs when she showed up to the 90th Academy Awards wearing the same dress she had worn to the ceremony in 1962. That year she had won an Oscar for playing Anita in West Side Story, becoming the first Latina woman to do so. More than a century later, Moreno—who is one of just 16 performers in the esteemed EGOT club (winners of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony)—starred in Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story as Valentina, a character created specifically for her.
Ariana DeBose
Stepping in to a role made famous by Rita Moreno 60 years ago, Ariana DeBose had huge shoes to fill—and she clearly rose to the challenge. For her turn as Anita in Spielberg's remake of West Side Story, the 31-year-old actress (pictured here at last year's Oscars) is nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category. If that envelope is printed with her name, she and Moreno will make history as the first pair of actresses to win for playing the same role.
Jennifer Lawrence
After a post-marital hiatus from the spotlight, Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence reemerged in December for the NYC premiere of her film Don't Look Up, looking resplendent in a shimmering Dior gown and Tiffany jewels. Given the fact that she is imminently expecting her first child with art gallerist husband Cooke Maroney, it's unlikely she will be at the Academy Awards this year—but we can still dream.
Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart has certainly come a long way from her Twilight years. So impressive was her performance as Princess Diana in Pablo LarraÃn's biopic Spencer that she earned a nomination for Best Actress, holding her own in a category that includes Nicole Kidman, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, and Jessica Chastain. As for her Oscars red carpet debut, we expect Stewart to shine in Chanel (as she did here, at the UK premiere of the film)—not only has she been its brand ambassador since 2013, but the maison also opened its archives for Spencer's costumes.
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz, who became the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar when she took home the Best Supporting Actress prize in 2009 for Vicky Christina Barcelona, is being recognized this year in the Best Actress category for Parallel Mothers, the latest film in her longtime collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar. Her Oscar-winning husband Javier Bardem is also nominated for Best Actor this year for his performance as Desi Arnaz opposite Nicole Kidman's Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
Zendaya & Timothée Chalamet
Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet, Gen-Z titans of fabulous, risk-taking red carpet fashion, also happened to have co-starred in the year's most ambitious film, Dune, which is nominated for 10 Academy Awards. If their respective looks at the film's UK premiere are any indication—she wore sculptural Rick Owens, he chose a zippered Alexander McQueen suit—these two will surely be crowned homecoming queen and king come Oscar night.
Jessica Chastain
Given that the Academy has historically loved to reward actors who go through major physical transformations for a role (in the Best Actress category specifically, see: Charlize Theron for Monster, Nicole Kidman for The Hours, Renée Zellweger for Judy), Jessica Chastain (in Atelier Versace at the Venice Film Festival last year) may have a winning chance of taking home the prize for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the Michael Showalter-directed biopic about the infamous televangelist.
The Smith Family
We're hoping the Academy Awards turn out to be a family affair for Will Smith and his impossibly cool clan (which includes wife Jada Pinkett and their talented kids Willow and Jaden), as it was for them at the L.A. premiere of King Richard. The four-time Oscar nominee is recognized in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father and coach to Serena and Venus Williams. The film is also nominated for three other awards, including Best Picture.
Cate Blanchett
Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has a starring role in two films that are up for the Best Picture award this year: Adam McKay's Don't Look Up and Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley. Thanks to these movies, she now holds the distinction (previously held by Olivia de Havilland) of being the actress with the most credited roles tied to a Best Picture nominee—to date, Blanchett has starred in 9 films that have been recognized in this category.
Kirsten Dunst & Jesse Plemons
Penélope Cruz and Javier Barden aren't the only real-life couple celebrating dual Oscar nods this year. Kirsten Dunst and partner Jesse Plemons (pictured here at the LACMA Art + Film gala last year) both starred in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and have each been recognized for their work in the Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor categories.
Caitriona Balfe
Caitriona Balfe may have been snubbed in the Best Actress category for her role in Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, but the statuesque Irish actress—and star of Outlander—is as much a force on the red carpet as she is on film and TV. Case in point: her Oscars red carpet debut in 2020, in which she stunned in Maison Valentino Haute Couture.
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