If the expression slow and steady wins the race is true, then actress Anna Kendrick has finally edged her way to the front of Hollywood’s pack of young actresses.

This week, Kendrick, 24, earned a supporting actress Oscar nomination for her work in “Up in the Air,” playing a perky young executive out to teach George Clooney’s character how to fire people in the modern-day world of computer communication.

The Oscar nod — her first — followed her role in November’s box office hit “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” and this week Vanity Fair anointed her one of the fresh faces to watch in its annual Hollywood issue.

But the truth is, Kendrick’s “fresh face” has been racking up accolades on stage and in independent films for years before she hit the mainstream jackpot with the “Twilight” movies and now “Up in the Air.”

Still, this past week’s Oscar nomination and the month of awards shows and critical acclaim that came before it have caught Kendrick in a whirlwind of big-time Hollywood publicity that she still can’t quite grasp.

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