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The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner. The
1st Academy Awards The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 1 ...
ceremony was held in 1929 with Janet Gaynor receiving the award for her roles in '' 7th Heaven'', '' Street Angel'', and ''
Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...
''. Currently, nominees are determined by single transferable vote within the actors branch of AMPAS; winners are selected by a
plurality vote Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...
from the entire eligible voting members of the Academy. In the first three years of the awards, actresses were nominated as the best in their categories. At that time, all of their work during the qualifying period (as many as three films, in some cases) was listed after the award. However, during the 3rd ceremony held in 1930, only one of those films was cited in each winner's final award, even though each of the acting winners had two films following their names on the ballots. The following year, the current system was introduced in which an actress is nominated for a specific performance in a single film. Starting with the 9th ceremony held in 1937, the category was officially limited to five nominations per year. Jeanne Eagels is the first and only actress to be posthumously nominated in the category for ''The Letter'' (1929). Since its inception, the award has been given to 78 actresses. Katharine Hepburn has won the most awards in this category, with four, followed by
Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emm ...
, with three. With 17 nominations,
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
is the most nominated in this category, resulting in two wins.
Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...
became the first actress to win the award twice and in consecutive years for ''
The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and ...
'' (1936) and ''The Good Earth'' (1937). Italian actress Sophia Loren was the first winner for a non-English language performance for ''
Two Women ''Two Women'' ( it, La ciociara , rough literal translation "The Woman from Ciociaria") is a 1960 war drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica from a screenplay by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on the novel of the same name by Alberto ...
'' (1961). At age 21,
Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...
became the youngest actress to win this award for '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), and at age 80,
Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British-American actress. Tandy appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe ...
became the oldest winner in this category for '' Driving Miss Daisy'' (1989). Halle Berry is the only woman of color to win in this category, for '' Monster's Ball'' (2001).
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...
is the only openly LGBT woman to win in this category, for ''
The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...
'' (1988), and '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991), although she was not publicly out until after both wins. As of the 2022 ceremony, Jessica Chastain is the most recent winner in this category for her portrayal of
Tammy Faye Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...
in '' The Eyes of Tammy Faye''.


Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years are listed as per Academy convention, and generally correspond to the year of film release in Los Angeles County; the ceremonies are always held the following year. For the first five ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned twelve months from August 1 to July 31. For the 6th ceremony held in 1934, the eligibility period lasted from August 1, 1932, to December 31, 1933. Since the 7th ceremony held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
is the most nominated actress in this category with 17 nominations, winning in this category twice for '' Sophie's Choice'' (1982), and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Katharine Hepburn holds the records for most wins with 12 nominations and 4 wins for ''
Morning Glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
'' (1933), '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' (1967), '' The Lion in Winter'' (1968), and '' On Golden Pond'' (1981).


1920s


1930s


1940s


1950s


1960s


1970s


1980s


1990s


2000s


2010s


2020s


Multiple wins and nominations

The following individuals received two or more Best Actress awards: The following individuals received four or more Best Actress nominations:


Age superlatives


See also

* All Academy Award acting nominees * BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role *
César Award for Best Actress The César Award for Best Actress (french: César de la meilleure actrice, link=no) is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role o ...
*
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress is an award given out at the annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. The awards are presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), and was first presented in 1995. There were no official ...
*
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for "Best Actre ...
*
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for ...
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead * Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role


Notes

: A: Rules at the time of the first three ceremonies allowed for a performer to receive a single nomination which could honor their work in more than one film. Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer were both nominated for two different roles in the same category. Current Academy rules forbid this from happening. No official reason was ever given as to why Shearer won the award for only one of the two films she was listed for. : B: Bette Davis's performance in ''
Of Human Bondage ''Of Human Bondage'' is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The novel is generally agreed to be Maugham's masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although he stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography; though much in i ...
'' was not nominated for an Oscar. Several influential people at the time campaigned to have her name included on the list, so for that year (and the following year also) the Academy relaxed its rules and allowed a write-in vote. Technically this meant that any performance was eligible to win the award, whether or not the person was an official nominee. While the Academy does not officially recognize this as a nomination for Davis, it has included her in the list of nominees for the 1935 ceremony on its official website. : C: Both Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand received the exact same number of votes, resulting in both actresses receiving the award, according to Academy rules. : D: Elliot Page was nominated before his gender transition in 2020.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Oscars.org
(official Academy site)
The Academy Awards Database
(official site)
Oscar.com
(official ceremony promotional site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Award For Best Actress Academy Awards Film awards for lead actress