The nominees for the best supporting actress Oscar this year are Sally Hawkins,Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong'o, Julia Roberts, and June Squibb.

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES  (UNRESTRICTED POOL) -  The nominees for best supporting actress at the 86th Annual AcademyAwards are Sally Hawkins for "Blue Jasmine," Jennifer Lawrence for "American Hustle," Lupita Nyong'o for "12 Years a Slave," Julia Roberts for "August: Osage County" and June Squibb for "Nebraska."

Jennifer Lawrence earned her third Oscar nomination for her supporting role in "American Hustle" as the loopy wife of a con-man, played by Christian Bale, in a film that depicts the 1970s ABSCAM scandal in a cheeky, sexy period piece. Lawrence, 23, was previously nominated for her leading roles in 2011's "Winter's Bone" and 2012's "Silver Linings Playbook," for which she won the Oscar.

Newcomer Lupita Nyong'o, 30, earned her first Oscar nod as a petite, hard-laboring slave in "12 Years a Slave." The film is based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man tricked and sold into slavery. He is played by British actorChiwetel Ejiofor, nominated for a best actor Oscar. Patsey has the unfortunate lot of not only being a slave but also the object of love and sexual desire of her master, the cruel and conflicted Edwin Epps played by Michael Fassbender, nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar. Nyong'o was born in Mexico 30 years ago (hence the Mexican name Lupita) where her Kenyan father was in political exile, but they moved back to Kenya when she was 1. She was educated in the United States and was graduating from Yale University's School of Drama just as she prepared her first-ever audition tape for the Steve McQueen directed film.

Julia Roberts, 46, earned her fourth Oscar nomination for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in "August: Osage County." Roberts won a best actress Academy Award for her role in 2000's "Erin Brockovich." In "August: Osage County," she plays the eldest of three sisters in a dysfunctional Oklahoma family. Roberts was previously nominated for her roles in 1989's "Steel Magnolias" and 1990's "Pretty Woman."

And rounding out the category is June Squibb, 84, for her supporting role inAlexander Payne's "Nebraska." The heartland comedy is shot in black and white with a quirky, homey sensibility. The film about family, old age and dreams follows a curmudgeonly father, played by Oscar nominated star Bruce Dern, who believes he has won $1 million after receiving a sweepstakes flyer telling him he's a winner. Squibb plays his wife. The veteran actress got her start in film in Woody Allen's 1990 film "Alice," and previously worked with Payne in 2002's "About Schmidt," playing Jack Nicholson's wife.

The 86th Annual Academy Awards will be handed out in a live telecast ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 2nd.