Academy Award for Best Actress
| Academy Award for Best Actress | |
|---|---|
The 2023 recipient: Emma Stone | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) |
| First awarded | 1929 (for performance in films released during the 1927/1928 film season) |
| Most recent winner | Emma Stone Poor Things (2022) |
| Most awards | Katharine Hepburn (4) |
| Most nominations | Meryl Streep (17) |
| Website | oscars |
The Academy Award for Best Actress is awarded for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a movie. The award is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Winners
Winners are listed first in colored row, followed by the other nominees.
1920s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927/28 1st Academy Awards | |||
| Janet Gaynor | Seventh Heaven / Street Angel / Sunrise | Diane / Angela / The Wife - Indre | |
| Louise Dresser | A Ship Comes In | Mrs. Pleznik | |
| Gloria Swanson | Sadie Thompson | Sadie Thompson | |
| 1928/29 2nd Academy Awards | |||
| Mary Pickford | Coquette | Norma Besant | |
| Ruth Chatterton | Madame X | Jacqueline Floriot | |
| Betty Compson | The Barker | Carrie | |
| Jeanne Eagels (posthumous nomination) | The Letter | Leslie Crosbie | |
| Corinne Griffith | The Divine Lady | Emma, Lady Hamilton | |
| Bessie Love | The Broadway Melody | Hank Mahoney |
1930s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929/30 3rd Academy Awards | |||
| Norma Shearer | The Divorcee | Jerry Bernard Martin | |
| Nancy Carroll | The Devil's Holiday | Hallie Hobart | |
| Ruth Chatterton | Sarah and Son | Sarah Storm | |
| Greta Garbo | Anna Christie | Anna Christie | |
| Greta Garbo | Romance | Madame Rita Cavallini | |
| Norma Shearer | Their Own Desire | Lucia 'Lally' Marlett | |
| Gloria Swanson | The Trespasser | Marion Donnell | |
| 1930/31 4th Academy Awards | |||
| Marie Dressler | Min and Bill | Min Divot | |
| Marlene Dietrich | Morocco | Mademoiselle Amy Jolly | |
| Irene Dunne | Cimarron | Sabra Cravat | |
| Ann Harding | Holiday | Linda Seton | |
| Norma Shearer | A Free Soul | Jan Ashe | |
| 1931/32 5th Academy Awards | |||
| Helen Hayes | The Sin of Madelon Claudet | Madelon Claudet | |
| Marie Dressler | Emma | Emma Thatcher Smith | |
| Lynn Fontanne | The Guardsman | The Actress | |
| 1932/33 6th Academy Awards | |||
| Katharine Hepburn | Morning Glory | Eva Lovelace | |
| May Robson (2nd) | Lady for a Day | Apple Annie | |
| Diana Wynyard (3rd) | Cavalcade | Jane Marryot | |
| 1934 7th Academy Awards | |||
| Claudette Colbert | It Happened One Night | Ellie Andrews | |
| Grace Moore | One Night of Love | Mary Barrett | |
| Norma Shearer (2nd) | The Barretts of Wimpole Street | Elizabeth Barrett | |
| Bette Davis (write-in) (3rd) | Of Human Bondage | Mildred Rogers | |
| 1935 8th Academy Awards | |||
| Bette Davis | Dangerous | Joyce Heath | |
| Elisabeth Bergner (3rd) | Escape Me Never | Gemma Jones | |
| Claudette Colbert | Private Worlds | Jane Everest | |
| Katharine Hepburn (2nd) | Alice Adams | Alice Adams | |
| Miriam Hopkins | Becky Sharp | Becky Sharp | |
| Merle Oberon | The Dark Angel | Kitty Vane | |
| 1936 9th Academy Awards | |||
| Luise Rainer | The Great Ziegfeld | Anna Held | |
| Irene Dunne | Theodora Goes Wild | Theodora Lynn | |
| Gladys George | Valiant Is the Word for Carrie | Carrie Snyder | |
| Carole Lombard | My Man Godfrey | Irene Bullock | |
| Norma Shearer | Romeo and Juliet | Juliet – Daughter to Capulet | |
| 1937 10th Academy Awards | |||
| Luise Rainer | The Good Earth | O-Lan | |
| Irene Dunne | The Awful Truth | Lucy Warriner | |
| Greta Garbo | Camille | Marguerite Gautier | |
| Janet Gaynor | A Star Is Born | Esther Victoria Blodgett, aka Vicki Lester | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Stella Dallas | Stella Martin Dallas | |
| 1938 11th Academy Awards | |||
| Bette Davis | Jezebel | Julie Marsden | |
| Fay Bainter | White Banners | Hannah Parmalee | |
| Wendy Hiller | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | |
| Norma Shearer | Marie Antoinette | Marie Antoinette | |
| Margaret Sullavan | Three Comrades | Patricia 'Pat' Hollmann | |
| 1939 12th Academy Awards | |||
| Vivien Leigh | Gone with the Wind | Scarlett O'Hara | |
| Bette Davis | Dark Victory | Judith Traherne | |
| Irene Dunne | Love Affair | Terry McKay | |
| Greta Garbo | Ninotchka | Nina Yakushova 'Ninotchka' Ivanoff | |
| Greer Garson | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | Katherine |
1940s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 13th Academy Awards | |||
| Ginger Rogers | Kitty Foyle | Kitty Foyle | |
| Bette Davis | The Letter | Leslie Crosbie | |
| Joan Fontaine | Rebecca | The Second Mrs. de Winter | |
| Katharine Hepburn | The Philadelphia Story | Tracy Lord | |
| Martha Scott | Our Town | Emily Webb | |
| 1941 14th Academy Awards | |||
| Joan Fontaine | Suspicion | Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth | |
| Bette Davis | The Little Foxes | Regina Giddens | |
| Olivia de Havilland | Hold Back the Dawn | Emmy Brown | |
| Greer Garson | Blossoms in the Dust | Edna Gladney | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Ball of Fire | Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea | |
| 1942 15th Academy Awards | |||
| Greer Garson | Mrs. Miniver | Kay Miniver | |
| Bette Davis | Now, Voyager | Charlotte Vale | |
| Katharine Hepburn | Woman of the Year | Tess Harding | |
| Rosalind Russell | My Sister Eileen | Ruth Sherwood | |
| Teresa Wright | The Pride of the Yankees | Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig | |
| 1943 16th Academy Awards | |||
| Jennifer Jones | The Song of Bernadette | Bernadette Soubirous | |
| Jean Arthur | The More the Merrier | Constance "Connie" Milligan | |
| Ingrid Bergman | For Whom the Bell Tolls | María | |
| Joan Fontaine | The Constant Nymph | Tessa Sanger | |
| Greer Garson | Madame Curie | Marie Curie | |
| 1944 17th Academy Awards | |||
| Ingrid Bergman | Gaslight | Paula Alquist Anton | |
| Claudette Colbert | Since You Went Away | Anne Hilton | |
| Bette Davis | Mr. Skeffington | Fanny Trellis | |
| Greer Garson | Mrs. Parkington | Susie 'Sparrow' Parkington | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Double Indemnity | Phyllis Dietrichson | |
| 1945 18th Academy Awards | |||
| Joan Crawford | Mildred Pierce | Mildred Pierce Beragon | |
| Ingrid Bergman | The Bells of St. Mary's | Sister Mary Benedict | |
| Greer Garson | The Valley of Decision | Mary Rafferty | |
| Jennifer Jones | Love Letters | Singleton | |
| Gene Tierney | Leave Her to Heaven | Ellen Berent Harland | |
| 1946 19th Academy Awards | |||
| Olivia de Havilland | To Each His Own | Josephine 'Jody' Norris | |
| Celia Johnson | Brief Encounter | Laura Jesson | |
| Jennifer Jones | Duel in the Sun | Pearl Chavez | |
| Rosalind Russell | Sister Kenny | Elizabeth Kenny | |
| Jane Wyman | The Yearling | Orry Baxter | |
| 1947 20th Academy Awards | |||
| Loretta Young | The Farmer's Daughter | Katie Holstrom | |
| Joan Crawford | Possessed | Louise Howell | |
| Susan Hayward | Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman | Angelica Evans Conway | |
| Dorothy McGuire | Gentleman's Agreement | Kathy Lacy | |
| Rosalind Russell | Mourning Becomes Electra | Lavinia Mannon | |
| 1948 21st Academy Awards | |||
| Jane Wyman | Johnny Belinda | Belinda McDonald | |
| Ingrid Bergman | Joan of Arc | Joan of Arc | |
| Olivia de Havilland | The Snake Pit | Virginia Stuart Cunningham | |
| Irene Dunne | I Remember Mama | Martha Hanson | |
| Barbara Stanwyck | Sorry, Wrong Number | Leona Stevenson | |
| 1949 22nd Academy Awards | |||
| Olivia de Havilland | The Heiress | Catherine Sloper | |
| Jeanne Crain | Pinky | Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson | |
| Susan Hayward | My Foolish Heart | Eloise Winters | |
| Deborah Kerr | Edward, My Son | Evelyn Boult | |
| Loretta Young | Come to the Stable | Sister Margaret |
1950s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 23rd Academy Awards | |||
| Judy Holliday | Born Yesterday | Emma 'Billie' Dawn | |
| Anne Baxter | All About Eve | Eve Harrington | |
| Bette Davis | All About Eve | Margo Channing | |
| Eleanor Parker | Caged | Marie Allen | |
| Gloria Swanson | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond | |
| 1951 24th Academy Awards | |||
| Vivien Leigh | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois | |
| Katharine Hepburn | The African Queen | Rose Sayer | |
| Eleanor Parker | Detective Story | Mary McLeod | |
| Shelley Winters | A Place in the Sun | Alice Tripp | |
| Jane Wyman | The Blue Veil | Louise Mason | |
| 1952 25th Academy Awards | |||
| Shirley Booth | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney | |
| Joan Crawford | Sudden Fear | Myra Hudson | |
| Bette Davis | The Star | Margaret Elliot | |
| Julie Harris | The Member of the Wedding | Frances 'Frankie' Addams | |
| Susan Hayward | With a Song in My Heart | Jane Froman | |
| 1953 26th Academy Awards | |||
| Audrey Hepburn | Roman Holiday | Princess Ann | |
| Leslie Caron | Lili | Lili Daurier | |
| Ava Gardner | Mogambo | Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly | |
| Deborah Kerr | From Here to Eternity | Karen Holmes | |
| Maggie McNamara | The Moon Is Blue | Patty O'Neill | |
| 1954 27th Academy Awards | |||
| Grace Kelly | The Country Girl | Georgie Elgin | |
| Dorothy Dandridge | Carmen Jones | Carmen Jones | |
| Judy Garland | A Star Is Born | Vicki Lester / Esther Blodgett | |
| Audrey Hepburn | Sabrina | Sabrina Fairchild | |
| Jane Wyman | Magnificent Obsession | Helen Phillips | |
| 1955 28th Academy Awards | |||
| Anna Magnani | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina Delle Rose | |
| Susan Hayward | I'll Cry Tomorrow | Lillian Roth | |
| Katharine Hepburn | Summertime | Jane Hudson | |
| Jennifer Jones | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Han Suyin | |
| Eleanor Parker | Interrupted Melody | Marjorie 'Margie' Lawrence | |
| 1956 29th Academy Awards | |||
| Ingrid Bergman | Anastasia | Anna Koreff / Anastasia | |
| Carroll Baker | Baby Doll | Baby Doll Meighan | |
| Katharine Hepburn | The Rainmaker | Lizzie Curry | |
| Nancy Kelly | The Bad Seed | Christine Penmark | |
| Deborah Kerr | The King and I | Anna Leonowens | |
| 1957 30th Academy Awards | |||
| Joanne Woodward | The Three Faces of Eve | Eve White / Eve Black / Jane | |
| Deborah Kerr | Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison | Sister Angela | |
| Anna Magnani | Wild Is the Wind | Gioia | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | Raintree County | Susanna Drake | |
| Lana Turner | Peyton Place | Constance MacKenzie | |
| 1958 31st Academy Awards | |||
| Susan Hayward | I Want to Live! | Barbara Graham | |
| Deborah Kerr | Separate Tables | Sibyl Railton-Bell | |
| Shirley MacLaine | Some Came Running | Ginnie Moorehead | |
| Rosalind Russell | Auntie Mame | Mame Dennis | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Margaret 'Maggie the Cat' Pollitt | |
| 1959 32nd Academy Awards | |||
| Simone Signoret | Room at the Top | Alice Aisgill | |
| Doris Day | Pillow Talk | Jan Morrow | |
| Audrey Hepburn | The Nun's Story | Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) | |
| Katharine Hepburn | Suddenly, Last Summer | Violet Venable | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | Suddenly, Last Summer | Catherine Holly |
1960s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 33rd Academy Awards | |||
| Elizabeth Taylor | BUtterfield 8 | Gloria Wandrous | |
| Greer Garson | Sunrise at Campobello | Eleanor Roosevelt | |
| Deborah Kerr | The Sundowners | Ida Carmody | |
| Shirley MacLaine | The Apartment | Fran Kubelik | |
| Melina Mercouri | Never on Sunday | Ilya | |
| 1961 34th Academy Awards | |||
| Sophia Loren | Two Women | Cesira | |
| Audrey Hepburn | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Holly Golightly | |
| Piper Laurie | The Hustler | Sarah Packard | |
| Geraldine Page | Summer and Smoke | Alma Winemiller | |
| Natalie Wood | Splendor in the Grass | Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis | |
| 1962 35th Academy Awards | |||
| Anne Bancroft | The Miracle Worker | Annie Sullivan | |
| Bette Davis | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Baby Jane Hudson | |
| Katharine Hepburn | Long Day's Journey Into Night | Mary Tyrone | |
| Geraldine Page | Sweet Bird of Youth | Alexandra Del Lago | |
| Lee Remick | Days of Wine and Roses | Kirsten Arnesen Clay | |
| 1963 36th Academy Awards | |||
| Patricia Neal | Hud | Alma Brown | |
| Leslie Caron | The L-Shaped Room | Jane Fossett | |
| Shirley MacLaine | Irma la Douce | Irma La Douce | |
| Rachel Roberts | This Sporting Life | Margaret Hammond | |
| Natalie Wood | Love with the Proper Stranger | Angie Rossini | |
| 1964 37th Academy Awards | |||
| Julie Andrews | Mary Poppins | Mary Poppins | |
| Anne Bancroft | The Pumpkin Eater | Jo Armitage | |
| Sophia Loren | Marriage Italian-Style | Filumena Marturano | |
| Debbie Reynolds | The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Molly Brown | |
| Kim Stanley | Séance on a Wet Afternoon | Myra Savage | |
| 1965 38th Academy Awards | |||
| Julie Christie | Darling | Diana Scott | |
| Julie Andrews | The Sound of Music | Maria von Trapp | |
| Samantha Eggar | The Collector | Miranda Grey | |
| Elizabeth Hartman | A Patch of Blue | Selina D'Arcy | |
| Simone Signoret | Ship of Fools | La Contessa | |
| 1966 39th Academy Awards | |||
| Elizabeth Taylor | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha | |
| Anouk Aimée | A Man and a Woman | Anne Gauthier | |
| Ida Kaminska | The Shop on Main Street | Rozalie Lautmann | |
| Lynn Redgrave | Georgy Girl | Georgina 'Georgy' Parkin | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Morgan! | Leonie Delt | |
| 1967 40th Academy Awards | |||
| Katharine Hepburn | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Christina Drayton | |
| Anne Bancroft | The Graduate | Mrs. Robinson | |
| Faye Dunaway | Bonnie and Clyde | Bonnie Parker | |
| Edith Evans | The Whisperers | Maggie Ross | |
| Audrey Hepburn | Wait Until Dark | Susy Hendrix | |
| 1968 41st Academy Awards | |||
| Katharine Hepburn (tie) | The Lion in Winter | Eleanor of Aquitaine | |
| Barbra Streisand (tie) | Funny Girl | Fanny Brice | |
| Patricia Neal | The Subject was Roses | Nettie Cleary | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Isadora | Isadora Duncan | |
| Joanne Woodward | Rachel, Rachel | Rachel Cameron | |
| 1969 42nd Academy Awards | |||
| Maggie Smith | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jean Brodie | |
| Geneviève Bujold | Anne of the Thousand Days | Anne Boleyn | |
| Jane Fonda | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Gloria Beatty | |
| Liza Minnelli | The Sterile Cuckoo | Mary Ann 'Pookie' Adams | |
| Jean Simmons | The Happy Ending | Mary Wilson |
1970s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 43rd Academy Awards | |||
| Glenda Jackson | Women in Love | Gudrun Brangwen | |
| Jane Alexander | The Great White Hope | Eleanor Backman | |
| Ali MacGraw | Love Story | Jennifer Cavalleri | |
| Sarah Miles | Ryan's Daughter | Rosy Ryan | |
| Carrie Snodgress | Diary of a Mad Housewife | Bettina "Tina" Balser | |
| 1971 44th Academy Awards | |||
| Jane Fonda | Klute | Bree Daniels | |
| Julie Christie | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Constance Miller | |
| Glenda Jackson | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Alex Greville | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | Mary, Queen of Scots | Mary, Queen of Scots | |
| Janet Suzman | Nicholas and Alexandra | Empress Alexandra / Alix of Hesse Darmstadt | |
| 1972 45th Academy Awards | |||
| Liza Minnelli | Cabaret | Sally Bowles | |
| Diana Ross | Lady Sings the Blues | Billie Holiday | |
| Maggie Smith | Travels with My Aunt | Augusta Bertram | |
| Cicely Tyson | Sounder | Rebecca Morgan | |
| Liv Ullmann | The Emigrants | Kristina | |
| 1973 46th Academy Awards | |||
| Glenda Jackson | A Touch of Class | Vicki Allessio | |
| Ellen Burstyn | The Exorcist | Chris MacNeil | |
| Marsha Mason | Cinderella Liberty | Maggie Paul | |
| Barbra Streisand | The Way We Were | Katie Morosky | |
| Joanne Woodward | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | Rita Walden | |
| 1974 47th Academy Awards | |||
| Ellen Burstyn | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Alice Hyatt | |
| Diahann Carroll | Claudine | Claudine Price | |
| Faye Dunaway | Chinatown | Evelyn Cross Mulwray | |
| Valerie Perrine | Lenny | Honey Bruce | |
| Gena Rowlands | A Woman Under the Influence | Mabel Longhetti | |
| 1975 48th Academy Awards | |||
| Louise Fletcher | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Nurse Mildred Ratched | |
| Isabelle Adjani | The Story of Adele H. | Adèle Hugo / Adèle Lewry | |
| Ann-Margret | Tommy | Nora Walker | |
| Glenda Jackson | Hedda | Hedda Gabler | |
| Carol Kane | Hester Street | Gitl | |
| 1976 49th Academy Awards | |||
| Faye Dunaway | Network | Diana Christensen | |
| Marie-Christine Barrault | Cousin, cousine | Marthe | |
| Talia Shire | Rocky | Adrian Pennino | |
| Sissy Spacek | Carrie | Carrie White | |
| Liv Ullmann | Face to Face | Jenny Isaksson | |
| 1977 50th Academy Awards | |||
| Diane Keaton | Annie Hall | Annie Hall | |
| Anne Bancroft | The Turning Point | Emma Jacklin | |
| Jane Fonda | Julia | Lillian Hellman | |
| Shirley MacLaine | The Turning Point | Deedee Rodgers | |
| Marsha Mason | The Goodbye Girl | Paula McFadden | |
| 1978 51st Academy Awards | |||
| Jane Fonda | Coming Home | Sally Hyde | |
| Ingrid Bergman | Autumn Sonata | Charlotte Andergast | |
| Ellen Burstyn | Same Time, Next Year | Doris | |
| Jill Clayburgh | An Unmarried Woman | Erica Benton | |
| Geraldine Page | Interiors | Eve | |
| 1979 52nd Academy Awards | |||
| Sally Field | Norma Rae | Norma Rae Webster | |
| Jill Clayburgh | Starting Over | Marilyn Holmberg | |
| Jane Fonda | The China Syndrome | Kimberly Wells | |
| Marsha Mason | Chapter Two | Jennie MacLaine | |
| Bette Midler | The Rose | Mary Rose Foster |
1980s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 53rd Academy Awards | |||
| Sissy Spacek | Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn | |
| Ellen Burstyn | Resurrection | Edna Mae McCauley | |
| Goldie Hawn | Private Benjamin | Pvt. Judy Benjamin | |
| Mary Tyler Moore | Ordinary People | Beth Jarrett | |
| Gena Rowlands | Gloria | Gloria Swenson | |
| 1981 54th Academy Awards | |||
| Katharine Hepburn | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer | |
| Diane Keaton | Reds | Louise Bryant | |
| Marsha Mason | Only When I Laugh | Georgia Hines | |
| Susan Sarandon | Atlantic City | Sally Matthews | |
| Meryl Streep | The French Lieutenant's Woman | Anna (Sara Woodruff) | |
| 1982 55th Academy Awards | |||
| Meryl Streep | Sophie's Choice | Sophie Zawistowska | |
| Julie Andrews | Victor Victoria | Victoria Grant | |
| Jessica Lange | Frances | Frances Farmer | |
| Sissy Spacek | Missing | Beth Horman | |
| Debra Winger | An Officer and a Gentleman | Paula Pokrifki | |
| 1983 56th Academy Awards | |||
| Shirley MacLaine | Terms of Endearment | Aurora Greenway | |
| Jane Alexander | Testament | Carol Wetherly | |
| Meryl Streep | Silkwood | Karen Silkwood | |
| Julie Walters | Educating Rita | Rita | |
| Debra Winger | Terms of Endearment | Emma Greenway Horton | |
| 1984 57th Academy Awards | |||
| Sally Field | Places in the Heart | Edna Spalding | |
| Judy Davis | A Passage to India | Adela Quested | |
| Jessica Lange | Country | Jewell Ivy | |
| Vanessa Redgrave | The Bostonians | Olive Chancellor | |
| Sissy Spacek | The River | Mae Garvey | |
| 1985 58th Academy Awards | |||
| Geraldine Page | The Trip to Bountiful | Carrie Watts | |
| Anne Bancroft | Agnes of God | Mother Miriam Ruth | |
| Whoopi Goldberg | The Color Purple | Celie Harris Johnson | |
| Jessica Lange | Sweet Dreams | Patsy Cline | |
| Meryl Streep | Out of Africa | Karen Blixen | |
| 1986 59th Academy Awards | |||
| Marlee Matlin | Children of a Lesser God | Sarah Norman | |
| Jane Fonda | The Morning After | Alex Sternbergen | |
| Sissy Spacek | Crimes of the Heart | Babe Magrath | |
| Kathleen Turner | Peggy Sue Got Married | Peggy Sue Bodell | |
| Sigourney Weaver | Aliens | Ellen Ripley | |
| 1987 60th Academy Awards | |||
| Cher | Moonstruck | Loretta Castorini | |
| Glenn Close | Fatal Attraction | Alex Forrest | |
| Holly Hunter | Broadcast News | Jane Craig | |
| Sally Kirkland | Anna | Anna | |
| Meryl Streep | Ironweed | Helen Archer | |
| 1988 61st Academy Awards | |||
| Jodie Foster | The Accused | Sarah Tobias | |
| Glenn Close | Dangerous Liaisons | Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil | |
| Melanie Griffith | Working Girl | Tess McGill | |
| Meryl Streep | A Cry in the Dark | Lindy Chamberlain | |
| Sigourney Weaver | Gorillas in the Mist | Dian Fossey | |
| 1989 62nd Academy Awards | |||
| Jessica Tandy | Driving Miss Daisy | Daisy Werthan | |
| Isabelle Adjani | Camille Claudel | Camille Claudel | |
| Pauline Collins | Shirley Valentine | Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw | |
| Jessica Lange | Music Box | Ann Talbot | |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Susie Diamond |
1990s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 63rd Academy Awards | |||
| Kathy Bates | Misery | Annie Wilkes | |
| Anjelica Huston | The Grifters | Lilly Dillon | |
| Julia Roberts | Pretty Woman | Vivian Ward | |
| Meryl Streep | Postcards from the Edge | Suzanne Vale | |
| Joanne Woodward | Mr. and Mrs. Bridge | India Bridge | |
| 1991 64th Academy Awards | |||
| Jodie Foster | The Silence of the Lambs | Clarice Starling | |
| Geena Davis | Thelma & Louise | Thelma Dickinson | |
| Laura Dern | Rambling Rose | Rose | |
| Bette Midler | For the Boys | Dixie Leonard | |
| Susan Sarandon | Thelma & Louise | Louise Sawyer | |
| 1992 65th Academy Awards | |||
| Emma Thompson | Howards End | Margaret Schlegel | |
| Catherine Deneuve | Indochine | Eliane Devries | |
| Mary McDonnell | Passion Fish | May-Alice Culhane | |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Love Field | Lurene Hallett | |
| Susan Sarandon | Lorenzo's Oil | Michaela Odone | |
| 1993 66th Academy Awards | |||
| Holly Hunter | The Piano | Ada McGrath | |
| Angela Bassett | What's Love Got to Do with It | Tina Turner | |
| Stockard Channing | Six Degrees of Separation | Ouisa Kittredge | |
| Emma Thompson | The Remains of the Day | Sarah "Sally" Kenton | |
| Debra Winger | Shadowlands | Joy Gresham | |
| 1994 67th Academy Awards | |||
| Jessica Lange | Blue Sky | Carly Marshall | |
| Jodie Foster | Nell | Nell Kellty | |
| Miranda Richardson | Tom & Viv | Vivienne Haigh-Wood | |
| Winona Ryder | Little Women | Jo March | |
| Susan Sarandon | The Client | Reggie Love | |
| 1995 68th Academy Awards | |||
| Susan Sarandon | Dead Man Walking | Helen Prejean | |
| Elisabeth Shue | Leaving Las Vegas | Sera | |
| Sharon Stone | Casino | Ginger McKenna | |
| Meryl Streep | The Bridges of Madison County | Francesca Johnson | |
| Emma Thompson | Sense and Sensibility | Elinor Dashwood | |
| 1996 69th Academy Awards | |||
| Frances McDormand | Fargo | Marge Gunderson | |
| Brenda Blethyn | Secrets & Lies | Cynthia Rose Purley | |
| Diane Keaton | Marvin's Room | Bessie | |
| Kristin Scott Thomas | The English Patient | Katharine Clifton | |
| Emily Watson | Breaking the Waves | Bess McNeill | |
| 1997 70th Academy Awards | |||
| Helen Hunt | As Good as It Gets | Carol Connelly | |
| Helena Bonham Carter | The Wings of the Dove | Kate Croy | |
| Julie Christie | Afterglow | Phyllis Mann | |
| Judi Dench | Mrs. Brown | Queen Victoria | |
| Kate Winslet | Titanic | Rose DeWitt Bukater | |
| 1998 71st Academy Awards | |||
| Gwyneth Paltrow | Shakespeare in Love | Viola De Lesseps | |
| Cate Blanchett | Elizabeth | Elizabeth I | |
| Fernanda Montenegro | Central Station | Dora | |
| Meryl Streep | One True Thing | Kate Gulden | |
| Emily Watson | Hilary and Jackie | Jacqueline du Pré | |
| 1999 72nd Academy Awards | |||
| Hilary Swank | Boys Don't Cry | Brandon Teena | |
| Annette Bening | American Beauty | Carolyn Burnham | |
| Janet McTeer | Tumbleweeds | Mary Jo Walker | |
| Julianne Moore | The End of the Affair | Sarah Miles | |
| Meryl Streep | Music of the Heart | Roberta Guaspari |
2000s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 73rd Academy Awards | |||
| Julia Roberts | Erin Brockovich | Erin Brockovich | |
| Joan Allen | The Contender | Senator Laine Hanson | |
| Juliette Binoche | Chocolat | Vianne Rocher | |
| Ellen Burstyn | Requiem for a Dream | Sara Goldfarb | |
| Laura Linney | You Can Count on Me | Sammy Prescott | |
| 2001 74th Academy Awards | |||
| Halle Berry | Monster's Ball | Leticia Musgrove | |
| Judi Dench | Iris | Iris Murdoch | |
| Nicole Kidman | Moulin Rouge! | Satine | |
| Sissy Spacek | In the Bedroom | Ruth Fowler | |
| Renée Zellweger | Bridget Jones's Diary | Bridget Jones | |
| 2002 75th Academy Awards | |||
| Nicole Kidman | The Hours | Virginia Woolf | |
| Salma Hayek | Frida | Frida Kahlo | |
| Diane Lane | Unfaithful | Constance 'Connie' Sumner | |
| Julianne Moore | Far from Heaven | Cathy Whitaker | |
| Renée Zellweger | Chicago | Roxie Hart | |
| 2003 76th Academy Awards | |||
| Charlize Theron | Monster | Aileen Wuornos | |
| Keisha Castle-Hughes | Whale Rider | Paikea Apirana | |
| Diane Keaton | Something's Gotta Give | Erika Berry | |
| Samantha Morton | In America | Sarah Sullivan | |
| Naomi Watts | 21 Grams | Cristina "Cris" Williams Peck | |
| 2004 77th Academy Awards | |||
| Hilary Swank | Million Dollar Baby | Maggie Fitzgerald | |
| Annette Bening | Being Julia | Julia Lambert | |
| Catalina Sandino Moreno | Maria Full of Grace | María Álvarez | |
| Imelda Staunton | Vera Drake | Vera Rose Drake | |
| Kate Winslet | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Clementine Kruczynski | |
| 2005 78th Academy Awards | |||
| Reese Witherspoon | Walk the Line | June Carter | |
| Judi Dench | Mrs Henderson Presents | Laura Henderson | |
| Felicity Huffman | Transamerica | Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne | |
| Keira Knightley | Pride & Prejudice | Elizabeth Bennet | |
| Charlize Theron | North Country | Josey Aimes | |
| 2006 79th Academy Awards | |||
| Helen Mirren | The Queen | Queen Elizabeth II | |
| Penélope Cruz | Volver | Raimunda | |
| Judi Dench | Notes on a Scandal | Barbara Covett | |
| Meryl Streep | The Devil Wears Prada | Miranda Priestly | |
| Kate Winslet | Little Children | Sarah Pierce | |
| 2007 80th Academy Awards | |||
| Marion Cotillard | La Vie en Rose | Édith Piaf | |
| Cate Blanchett | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Elizabeth I | |
| Julie Christie | Away from Her | Fiona Anderson | |
| Laura Linney | The Savages | Wendy Savage | |
| Ellen Page | Juno | Juno MacGuff | |
| 2008 81st Academy Awards | |||
| Kate Winslet | The Reader | Hanna Schmitz | |
| Anne Hathaway | Rachel Getting Married | Kym Buchman | |
| Angelina Jolie | Changeling | Christine Collins | |
| Melissa Leo | Frozen River | Ray Eddy | |
| Meryl Streep | Doubt | Sister Aloysius Beauvier | |
| 2009 82nd Academy Awards | |||
| Sandra Bullock | The Blind Side | Leigh Anne Tuohy | |
| Helen Mirren | The Last Station | Sofya Tolstoy | |
| Carey Mulligan | An Education | Jenny Mellor | |
| Gabourey Sidibe | Precious | Claireece "Precious" Jones | |
| Meryl Streep | Julie & Julia | Julia Child |
2010s
| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 83rd Academy Awards | |||
| Natalie Portman | Black Swan | Nina Sayers | |
| Annette Bening | The Kids Are All Right | Nicole "Nic" Allgood | |
| Nicole Kidman | Rabbit Hole | Becca Corbett | |
| Jennifer Lawrence | Winter's Bone | Ree Dolly | |
| Michelle Williams | Blue Valentine | Cindy Heller | |
| 2011 84th Academy Awards | |||
| Meryl Streep | The Iron Lady | Margaret Thatcher | |
| Glenn Close | Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs | |
| Viola Davis | The Help | Aibileen Clark | |
| Rooney Mara | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Lisbeth Salander | |
| Michelle Williams | My Week with Marilyn | Marilyn Monroe | |
| 2012 85th Academy Awards | |||
| Jennifer Lawrence | Silver Linings Playbook | Tiffany Maxwell | |
| Jessica Chastain | Zero Dark Thirty | Maya | |
| Emmanuelle Riva | Amour | Anne Laurent | |
| Quvenzhané Wallis | Beasts of the Southern Wild | Hushpuppy | |
| Naomi Watts | The Impossible | Maria Bennett |