One of my musical shames is that I really don't like very many female singers. I didn't do that analysis posted here of how gender-balanced your music is because I know it would be horribly imbalanced. I don't know...it might be the tendency for female beloved singers to be "big" voices where I like subtlety, or it might be the twee notions of Cat Power and the like, but i have an inclination against.
So here's my estrogen alert!
When someone took Janis Joplin it left me a bit more lost in the Best Actress category, until I remembered the phenomenal Veerle Baetens. Wait, who?
One of my favorite/most devastating movies (which are often the same for me) in recent years was The Broken Circle Breakdown. You know, the Belgian movie about bluegrass musicians who lose their young daughter? I don't think I'm giving away too much with that "spoiler," so if you haven't seen this movie, you should. Anyway, the incredible musician/actress Veerle Baetens sings this in the montage when you see that the child has died, which is somehow not even the most devastating part of the movie. She's a ####### angel.
Wayfaring Stranger - Veerle Baetens - The Broken Circle Breakdown
ETA:
@simey you must see this movie if you haven't.