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Women Who Ruled Movies in 2009

From Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side to Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, see which top film actresses stole the show this year. By Thelma Adams (13 Photos)

Thelma Adams on Dec 28, 2009 at 5:00AM

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Sony Pictures Classic

Helen Mirren in 'The Last Station'

She's got the power: Helen Mirren glowed as Countess Sofya, wife of aristocratic War and Peace author Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), who married her in 1862. When Tolstoy threatened to socialize his hefty estate, and cut her (and their thirteen children) from his will, the Countess called on every seductive trick she'd learned in 48 years of marriage to change his mind before he died. The 64-year-old Oscar winner -- also known as Dame Helen Mirren -- exploited every year of her acting experience to deliver a brilliant portrayal of wife, mother, muse, and manipulator.