Julianne Moore Turns 66 on December 3, and Her Best Performances Keep Getting Better

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Julianne Moore turns 66 on December 3. Over more than three decades she has moved between big studio films, independent drama and television, and she has become known for roles that ask an actor to be precise and unshowy at the same time.

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Boogie Nights (1997) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Amber Waves in Paul Thomas Anderson's film. It was one of the early steps in a career that would collect several major nominations.

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Far from Heaven (2002), directed by Todd Haynes, placed her in a 1950s melodrama about a housewife whose world begins to change. The film recreates the style of Douglas Sirk, and her performance is widely considered one of her finest.

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Still Alice (2014) was the role that won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She plays a professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and the film follows her with quiet, close attention.

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She also played Maude Lebowski in The Big Lebowski (1998), a comic role that many fans know well. If you want to see her range in one watch, put Boogie Nights and The Big Lebowski back to back.