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Oscars' Golden Girls: The Class of 2012

Kristen! Octavia! Michelle! Get the lowdown on the women vying for an Academy Award at this year's ceremony (12 Photos)

Tom DiChiara on Feb 17, 2012 at 12:08AM

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The Weinstein Co.

Michelle Williams

Nomination: Best Actress for My Week with Marilyn

Dawson's Creek alum -- and now three-time Oscar nominee -- Michelle Williams might not be the first person you'd expect to portray one of the most iconic blond bombshells in Hollywood history, but the 31-year-old actress pulls it off without a hitch. Channeling Marilyn Monroe during the 1956 filming of a movie in London, Williams prepared for months to be able to depict the legend's buoyant public persona and the haunted side she kept from the cameras. She even studied tapes so she'd get Marilyn's voice down pat and tried to put on weight so she'd have Monroe's famous curves. The latter plan, however, didn't pan out. "Ultimately, (the weight) went right to my face," Michelle confessed to Vogue. "So at some point it became a question of, Do I want my face to look like Marilyn Monroe's or my hips?"