TOP 10 Most Promising Movie Actresses (under 30)

I made my TOP 10 Most Promising Actors under 30 years old, so it would be almost descrimination don't do a TOP 10 to actresses. In this "category" there's a lot of good offers, that it was difficult to make, so I gave a little bit more importance to the actresses' body of work to distinguish them better.
Let's start:

1 - Saoirse Ronan

She's only 16 and she's already a promise and I consider her as the best young actress of today. There isn't much to say about the young Saoirse. She participated in Joe Wright's adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel named Atonement (starring alongside James McAvoy and Keira Knightley), portraying Briony Tallis at age 13, for which performance she got an Academy Award nomination of Best Supporting Actress. In fact, she was the scene stealer of the movie: she may not be very beautiful, but she was a charisma and such a presence that you can't simply ignore on the silver screen. After her critical sucess for Atonement, Peter Jackson hired her to play Susie Salmon in his adaptation of the novel The Lovely Bones and, in spite of the mixed to average reviews the movie got, Saoirse Ronan was highly praised and she was nominated and won some BIG awards, but missed another Oscar nomination. She also appeared in Death Defying Acts (2008) and City of Ember (2008) and got good critics' praise again in spite of the mixed reviews that both movies got. She is only 16 and she has an undeniable talent, now, imagine how she will be when she'll get older - maybe one of the best actresses alive (and, who knows, one of the best ever!).
most notable performances: Atonement (2007); Death Defying Acts (2007); The Lovely Bones (2009);
upcoming movies: The Way Back (2010); Hanna (2011); Violet and Daisy (2011);

2 - Carey Mulligan

Carey Mulligan was a big surprise in last year's Best Actress Oscar Race, delivering an amazing breakthrough performance in the British production An Education and was one of the most possible contenders to take the Oscar home. In fact, Carey Mulligan began her career with some difficulties, being rejected some times, but luckly for the cinema world, she was hired for An Education. Mulligan is pretty and very elegant, but not too much beautiful, which benefits her, having the right look for a lot of works. Plus, she has a great charisma and she seems a little bit classy while acting, making her enjoyable to watch. Before her Jenny, she acted on Broadway in the play The Seagull (alongside Kristin Scott-Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard) and she could be seen in minor roles in some productions like Pride & Prejudice (2005), Public Enemies (2009) or Brothers (2009) and now, after receiving "An Education", Carey is set for major and better roles, making her a great promise.
most notable performances: An Education (2009);
upcoming movies: Never Let Me Go (2010); Violet and Daisy (2011); Drive (2012); On Chesil Beach (2012); My Fair Lady (2012);

3 - Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson has been named the 21st century Marilyn Monroe if we're talking about beauty, but her acting style is as classy as her beauty - in fact, Ms. Johansson has that acting style that remember some great actresses of the Golden Era of Hollywood, a very natural acting, which makes her very believable on the big screen. Her breaktrough performances were in Horse Whisperer and Ghost World, and she estabilished herself as a serious actress in 2003 after highly acclaimed performances in Lost In Translation and in Girl With Pearl Earring. She worked with Woody Allen three times in Match Point, Scoop and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, receiving positive reviews in all of them, specially in the first one. Scarlett also appeared in some acclaimed and bankable productions such as Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (starring alongside Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Rebecca Hall and David Bowie) and Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 (starring alongside Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke). She received some of her career's best reviews for her performance in the Broadway revival of the View From the Bridge (for which she received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play), and everybody should know that the best actors are the ones who are well-suceed on stage! She got 4 Golden Globe nods, 2 BAFTA nods (1 win), a Critics' Choice nod and won a Tony Award - only a very good actress would have it! She's beautiful, talented and smart - she's a great promise.
most notable performances: Ghost World (2001); Lost In Translation (2003); Girl With Pearl Earring (2003); Match Point (2005);
upcoming movies: Old St. Louis (2011) (in talks); Breathers: a Zombie's Lament (2011) (rumoured); The Avengers (2012); Lunatic at Large (2012); Untitled Kurt Cobain Project (2012) (rumoured); Nick Fury (2012) (rumoured);

4 - Natalie Portman

This Israeli-American actress is worldwide known for her beauty and for her participation in the Star Wars prequel trilogy as Padmé Amidala, but she already was an actress before George Lucas hired her. In fact, her film debut in Léon - The Professional (1994) gave her raves for her performance alongside Jean Reno and, after some years, she also received critics' praise for her performances in Beautiful Girls (1996) and Anywhere But Here (1999). Then, she appeared in the Star Wars prequels and, in spite of the lack of favorable critics for her performance, her name and face became famous. Her participation as Alice in Closer earned her a Supporting Actress Golden Globe as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared in acclaimed productions like Cold Mountain (2003), Garden State (2004), V for Vendetta (2006) and Brothers (2009). She performed on stage in her early career (Ruthless!! (1994) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1997)) and in 2001 in a play named The Seagull (directed by Mike Nichols and starring Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Philip Seynour Hoffman and Portman herself). Today, she's getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her acclaimed performance as a ballet dancer in The Black Swan, a movie directed by Darren Aronofsy. She's pretty, well-known and talented enough to become a star!
most notable performances: Léon - The Professional (1994); Closer (2004); Brothers (2009); Black Swan (2010);
upcoming movies: Your Highness (2011); No Strings (2011); Thor (2011); Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2011);

5 - Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt's career in cinema began sucessfully with her acclaimed performance in the British drama movie My Summer of Love.Then, she appeared on TV in the film for television named Gideon's Daughter and, in 2006, she starred in The Devil Wears Prada alongside Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. In fact, Blunt was the second biggest scene stealer of the movie (after Meryl Streep) and the audience couldn't take the eyes from her when she appeared on screen, not only for her beauty but also for the "evil presence" of her performance, gaining a Golden Globe nomination of Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for this role. She also appeared in other productions like The Jane Austen Book Club, Sunshine Cleaning, The Great Buck Howard and The Young Victoria, receiving raves for her performance in this last one, being nominated for a Golden Globe and other major awards and considered as an Oscar contender for the Best Actress category. After such a lot of praise, she does have talent enough to "grow up" and become a HUGE and beautiful actress!
most notable performances: My Summer of Love (2004); The Devil Wears Prada (2006); The Young Victoria (2009); Sunshine Cleaning (2009);
upcoming movies: Gulliver's Travels (2010); The Adjustment Bureau (2010); Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) (voice); The Girl (2011); Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012);

6 - Ellen Page
most notable performances: Hard Candy (2005); Tracey Fragments (2007); Juno (2007);

upcoming movies: Super (2010); Freeheld (2011); Surrender Dorothy (2011); The We and the I (2012);

7 - Mia Wasikowska
most notable performances: That Evening Sun (2009); Alice In Wonderland (2010); The Kids Are All Right (2010);
upcoming movies: Restless (2011); Untitled Jim Jarmuch Project (2012);

8 - Keira Knightley
most notable performances: Pride & Prejudice (2005); Atonement (2007); The Duchess (2008);
upcoming movies: Never Let Me Go (2010); Last Night (2010); London Boulevard (2010); A Dangerous Method (2011); The Emperor's Children (2011); The Beautiful and the Damned (2011); Tender Is the Night (2013);

9 - Anne Hathaway
most notable performances: Brokeback Mountain (2005); Becoming Jane (2007); Rachel Getting Married (2008);
upcoming movies: Love and Other Drugs (2010); Rio (2011) (voice); One Day (2011); Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland (2011) (rumoured); Get Smart 2 (2012); The Fiance (2012); The Greatest Showman on Earth (2012);

10 - Dakota Fanning
most notable performances: I Am Sam (2001); War of Worlds (2005); The Runaways (2010);
upcoming movies: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I (2011); Furious Angel (2011); The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part II (2012);

PS: Michelle Williams wasn't eligible because she will be 30 years old next Thursday.