---
name: "Annette Bening"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/annette-bening"
fi1m_id: "annette-bening"
imdb_id: "nm0000906"
tmdb_id: 516
wikidata_id: "Q190602"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 May 1958"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 11
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 10
updated: "2026-10-02T23:48:47.232470+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Annette Bening

## Identity

Annette Bening

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/annette-bening
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** annette-bening
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000906
- **TMDB ID:** 516
- **Wikidata ID:** Q190602
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Bening, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190602, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000906/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/516

Actor. Born 29 May 1958 in Topeka, Kansas, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 May 1958, Topeka, Kansas, USA
- **Active:** 1990–present
- **Also known as:** Annette Carol Bening
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 11: 10 acting, 1 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Greg Yaitanes](https://film.one/person/greg-yaitanes.md), [Hilary Bettis](https://film.one/person/hilary-bettis.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 5 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as actor, over 10 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 76 (4), 2010s 66 (4), 2020s 57 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 66 across 10 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 3 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 5 of 10 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 7, Crime 3, Science Fiction 3, Comedy 2, Fantasy 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 16 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,713m across 8 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Bening, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190602, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000906/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/516

## Coming up

- *In Love* (2027-09-02)

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Lucky*](https://film.one/tv/lucky.md) (57), [*Dutton Ranch*](https://film.one/tv/dutton-ranch.md) (56)
- **Tubi:** [*Bugsy*](https://film.one/film/bugsy.md) (76)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Mars Attacks!*](https://film.one/film/mars-attacks.md) (66)
- **Disney+:** [*Captain Marvel*](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md) (60)
- **HBO Max:** [*The Bride!*](https://film.one/film/the-bride.md) (57)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Annette Bening

> Annette Bening makes confidence interesting by letting us see where it might become a fault. We value her precision and wit, though she can advertise a character's danger too plainly, and lesser scripts leave her doing good work in the margins.

In *Lucky* (2026), Annette Bening's Priscilla Masterson is polite, well dressed and in no hurry to get anywhere. She runs a criminal family, and Bening makes taking her time feel like a privilege nobody is likely to question. Christine Wada's expensive-looking clothes help: Priscilla seems accustomed to getting what she wants without having to explain herself. We found her unsettling because that unhurried politeness makes even the possibility of impatience feel dangerous. The series repeats itself, but it improves whenever it remembers to give her something to do.

Her breakthrough in Stephen Frears's *The Grifters* (1990) was more demonstrative. Myra Langtry, lover to John Cusack's Roy Dillon, is a con artist whose confidence Bening makes entertaining, though she sometimes makes the danger too easy to spot. Frears keeps Roy's relationship with his mother, Anjelica Huston's Lilly, central to the distrust. Bening's assurance helps expose Cusack's relative softness, though Huston gives the film its disturbing emotional force. We like Bening here without quite believing Myra could keep everyone fooled.

The career widened through Carolyn Burnham, the ambitious estate agent in *American Beauty* (1999), and Julia Lambert, the ageing stage actress in *Being Julia* (2004). The mothers in *The Kids Are All Right* (2010) and *20th Century Women* (2016) gave her further room for frailty alongside authority. Across those parts, the useful quality is her willingness to let a woman be wrong without reducing her to her faults. Her stage-trained precision helps, provided the delivery does not tell us everything in advance.

The smaller parts expose a different limitation, usually in the writing rather than the acting. Her Dr Euphronious is brisk and funny in Maggie Gyllenhaal's Frankenstein riff, but the film has more supporting players than it knows how to use. *Lucky* likewise gives Priscilla a useful air of threat, then too often leaves her out of the action. Neither is a reason to recommend the whole production, however welcome Bening is when she appears. For an evening with Bening, choose *The Grifters* rather than seven episodes of *Lucky*.

## Biography

Annette Bening is an American actress. Born in Topeka, Kansas, she trained at San Francisco State University and the American Conservatory Theater.

Bening began her career on stage, including with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and a Broadway debut in *Coastal Disturbances* (1987). Her film work includes *The Grifters* (1990), *American Beauty* (1999), *Being Julia* (2004), *The Kids Are All Right* (2010) and *20th Century Women* (2016). She has also appeared in *Captain Marvel* (2019) and *Death on the Nile* (2022).

Bening's television credits include a role in *The Sopranos* (1999) and the miniseries *Lucky* (2026) as Priscilla Masterson. In 2026 she played Dr Euphronious in the film *The Bride!*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (11)

### Performed in (10) — the average rests on these

- *Dutton Ranch* (2026), Fi1m 56, as Beulah Jackson — [page](https://film.one/tv/dutton-ranch.md)
- *Lucky* (2026), Fi1m 57, as Priscilla Masterson — [page](https://film.one/tv/lucky.md)
- *The Bride!* (2026), Fi1m 57, as Dr. Euphronious — [page](https://film.one/film/the-bride.md)
- *Captain Marvel* (2019), Fi1m 60, as Supreme Intelligence / Dr. Wendy Lawson — [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md)
- *Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool* (2017), Fi1m 66, as Gloria Grahame — [page](https://film.one/film/film-stars-dont-die-in-liverpool.md)
- *The Kids Are All Right* (2010), Fi1m 80, as Nic — [page](https://film.one/film/the-kids-are-all-right.md)
- *American Beauty* (1999), Fi1m 76, as Carolyn Burnham — [page](https://film.one/film/american-beauty.md)
- *Mars Attacks!* (1996), Fi1m 66, as Barbara Land — [page](https://film.one/film/mars-attacks.md)
- *Bugsy* (1991), Fi1m 76, as Virginia Hill — [page](https://film.one/film/bugsy.md)
- *The Grifters* (1990), Fi1m 84, as Myra Langtry — [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *I'm Still Here* (2010), Fi1m 60, Thanks — [page](https://film.one/film/im-still-here-2010.md)

## Complete filmography (59)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *In Love* (2027), Actor
- *Lucky* (2026), series, as Priscilla Masterson — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/tv/lucky.md)
- *Dutton Ranch* (2026), series, as Beulah Jackson — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/tv/dutton-ranch.md)
- *The Bride!* (2026), as Dr. Euphronious — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/the-bride.md)
- *Poolman* (2024), as Diane Espilnade
- *Apples Never Fall* (2024), series, as Joy Delaney · Executive Producer
- *NYAD* (2023), as Diana Nyad
- *Jerry & Marge Go Large* (2022), as Marge Selbee
- *Death on the Nile* (2022), as Euphemia Bouc
- *Hope Gap* (2019), as Grace
- *The Report* (2019), as Dianne Feinstein
- *The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts* (2019), as Narrator (voice)
- *Georgetown* (2019), as Amanda Brecht
- *Captain Marvel* (2019), as Supreme Intelligence / Dr. Wendy Lawson — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md)
- *Life Itself* (2018), as Dr. Cait Morris
- *The Seagull* (2018), as Irina Arkadina
- *Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool* (2017), as Gloria Grahame — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/film-stars-dont-die-in-liverpool.md)
- *20th Century Women* (2016), as Dorothea
- *Rules Don't Apply* (2016), as Lucy Mabrey
- *Danny Collins* (2015), as Mary Sinclair
- *The Search* (2014), as Helen
- *The Face of Love* (2013), as Nikki Lostorm
- *Ginger & Rosa* (2012), as Bella
- *Girl Most Likely* (2012), as Zelda
- *Ruby Sparks* (2012), as Gertrude
- *I'm Still Here* (2010), Thanks — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/im-still-here-2010.md)
- *The Kids Are All Right* (2010), as Nic — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-kids-are-all-right.md)
- *Mother and Child* (2009), as Karen
- *The Women* (2008), as Sylvie Fowler
- *14 Women* (2007), as Narrator (voice)
- *Running with Scissors* (2006), as Deirdre Burroughs
- *The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays* (2006), as Holly Dancer (segment "Coastal Disturbances")
- *Mrs. Harris* (2005), as Jean Harris
- *Being Julia* (2004), as Julia Lambert
- *Open Range* (2003), as Sue Barlow
- *Liberty's Kids* (2002), series, as Abigail Adams (voice)
- *What Planet Are You From?* (2000), as Susan Anderson
- *American Beauty* (1999), as Carolyn Burnham — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/american-beauty.md)
- *In Dreams* (1999), as Claire Cooper
- *The Sopranos* (1999), series, as Annette Bening — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md)
- *The Siege* (1998), as Elise Kraft / Sharon Bridger
- *Mars Attacks!* (1996), as Barbara Land — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/mars-attacks.md)
- *Richard III* (1995), as Queen Elizabeth
- *The American President* (1995), as Sydney Ellen Wade
- *Love Affair* (1994), as Terry McKay
- *Bugsy* (1991), as Virginia Hill — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/bugsy.md)
- *Regarding Henry* (1991), as Sarah Turner
- *Guilty by Suspicion* (1991), as Ruth Merrill
- *Postcards from the Edge* (1990), as Evelyn Ames
- *The Grifters* (1990), as Myra Langtry — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)
- *Valmont* (1989), as Merteuil
- *The Great Outdoors* (1988), as Kate Craig
- *Hostage* (1988), as Jill
- *Wiseguy* (1987), series, as Karen Leland / Maloy
- *Manhunt for Claude Dallas* (1986), as Ann Tillman
- *Miami Vice* (1984), series, as Vicky — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md)
- *42.6 Years*, as Ruthie
- *Behind the Lines*, as Narrator (voice)
- *Turn of Mind*, as Dr. Jennifer White

## Gallery

- ![Annette Bening as Nic in The Kids Are All Right (2010)](https://film.one/media/title/11946/still-d4bc1fadfe8e.jpg) Annette Bening as Nic in *The Kids Are All Right* (2010) — Image via TMDB
- ![Annette Bening as Priscilla Masterson in Lucky (2026)](https://film.one/media/title/2001/still-90ecb1b8b369.jpg) Annette Bening as Priscilla Masterson in *Lucky* (2026) — Image via TMDB
- ![April 25, 1998 Wash.D.C. © copyright John Mathew Smith 2010](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-df5c6d5eeb1f.jpg) April 25, 1998 Wash.D.C. © copyright John Mathew Smith 2010 — Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel  Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Annette_Bening_1999.jpg/1280px-Annette_Bening_1999.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Annette Bening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-fd3685d8ac16.jpg) Annette Bening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. — gdcgraphics, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/AnnetteBeningSept2013TIFF.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Annette Bening on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival for the movie screening Life Itself. (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-b5971ddc996e.jpg) Annette Bening on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival for the movie screening Life Itself. (2009) — Peter Kudlacz, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Annette_Bening_-_TIFF_2018_%2830746807358%29.jpg/1280px-Annette_Bening_-_TIFF_2018_%2830746807358%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![آنت بنینگ، زمستان ۱۳۸۷ در تخت جمشید (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-34a7c462983d.jpg) آنت بنینگ، زمستان ۱۳۸۷ در تخت جمشید (2009) — Parastoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Annette-Bening-in-Persepolis.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Annette Bening](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-c130bd7f90c3.jpg) Annette Bening — Image via TMDB
- ![Annette Bening](https://film.one/media/person/7038/gallery-fb1b5e7063d6.jpg) Annette Bening — Annette_Bening_2011_AA.jpg: David Torcivia at https://www.flickr.com/photos/viatorci/
derivative work: César (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Annette_Bening_2011_AA_%28revised%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 5 nominated

- 2024: Best Actress (nominated), for *Nyad*
- 2011: Best Actress (nominated), for *The Kids Are All Right*
- 2005: Best Actress (nominated), for *Being Julia*
- 2000: Best Actress (nominated), for *American Beauty*
- 1991: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *The Grifters*

### Other awards — 6 won, 1 nominated

- Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year 2024: Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (won)
- Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award 2024: Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award (won)
- Crystal Award 2011: Crystal Award (won)
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame 2006: star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (won)
- Donostia Award 2004: Donostia Award (won)
- Theatre World Award 1987: Theatre World Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 1987: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/annette-bening