Penélope Cruz
This is her fourth nomination and second in this category. She was nominated for her leading role in Volver (2006), and for her supporting roles in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), for which she won the award, and Nine (2009).
Cruz and Javier Bardem are the sixth married couple to be nominated for acting in the same year. Previous nominees were Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, 1931/32; Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, 1953 (in separate films); Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton, 1957; Rex Harrison and Rachel Roberts, 1963 (in separate films); and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, 1966.