Uncommon opinion, but birthday girl Joan Allen is one of the greatest, most letter-perfect actresses we have! After a Tony win (Burn This) and a second nomination for the seminal The Heidi Chronicles in the 1980s, she erupted on film through the 1990s: Searching for Bobby Fischer, Nixon (her first nomination, as Best Supporting Actress), The Crucible (a second consecutive nomination for Best Supporting Actress, The Ice Storm (for which she should have gotten her first Best Actress nomination, Face-Off, Pleasantville (for which she should have been nominated), and, then more work in the 2000s, including The Contender (her third and final Oscar nomination so far, and her only one for Best Actress), The Notebook, The Upside of Anger (which she also should have had a Best Actress nomination for), and Room. (And she’s also great in early-career films like Manhunter and Peggy Sue Got Married, and in the television movie Without Warning: The James Brady Story.)

Above all of these nominations, though, one most certainly should have resulted in a win: her Pat Nixon in Oliver Stone’s 1995 biopic is one for the ages. So profound is the performance that she won awards from the Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles film critics, as well as the National Society of Film Critics — and even received BAFTA and SAG nominations in the leading category (the New York Film Critics Circle named her their runner-up). It’s a shame the film is so hard to find.

But don’t sleep on her career! She’s outstanding.

This article is part of a special year-long series of anecdotes, reflections and thoughts about the Academy Awards.