BAFTA Award for Best British Actress

Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.

* From 1952 to 1967, there were two Best Actress awards presented, Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress.
* From 1968 onwards, the two awards merged into one award, which from 1968 to 1984 was known as Best Actress.
* From 1985 to present, the award has been known by its current name of Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Winners and nominees

Best British Actress (1952–1967)

Best Foreign Actress (1952–1967)

Best Actress in a Leading Role (1968–present)

1968–1979

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Note: Between 1964 and 1973, several actresses were nominated for multiple performances in a single year, these each count as one nomination. Scarlett Johansson's two mentions in 2003 count as two separate nominations. The two mentions received by Kate Winslet in both 2004 and 2008 count as two separate nominations each time.

Note: The 66th British Academy Film Awards, 2013 ceremony was the first time in the history of BAFTA that two French actresses were nominated for French-language performances in this category: Marion Cotillard for ''Rust and Bone'' and Emmanuelle Riva for ''Amour (2012 film), Amour''; the latter won.

Superlatives

Note: Meryl Streep and Judi Dench tie for the record of a total of 15 BAFTA Film nominations, with Streep having 12 Best Actress nominations and 3 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench has 5 Best Actress nominations and 9 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench's 15th nomination is for BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, Best Newcomer in 1966 (which she won). This gives her 6 BAFTA Film wins. In addition, she has won 4 BAFTA TV awards (from 12 nominations). In total, she has received 27 BAFTA Film & TV nominations with 10 wins. In 2001, Dench also received an honorary BAFTA: The BAFTA Fellowship.

Note: Maggie Smith has a total of 13 BAFTA Film nominations, for Best Actress (8), Best Supporting Actress (4) and Best Newcomer (1), winning 5. She also has 5 BAFTA TV nominations. This gives her a total of 18 BAFTA Film and TV nominations. In addition, Smith has received two honorary awards: The BAFTA Special Award (1993) and BAFTA Fellowship (1996).

Multiple nominations

;12 nominations
* Meryl Streep

;8 nominations
* Maggie Smith

;7 nominations

* Anne Bancroft
* Shirley MacLaine

;6 nominations

* Julie Christie
* Jane Fonda
* Simone Signoret

;5 nominations

* Judi Dench
* Audrey Hepburn
* Katharine Hepburn
* Kate Winslet

;4 nominations

* Cate Blanchett
* Deborah Kerr
* Helen Mirren
* Saoirse Ronan
* Emma Thompson
* Joanne Woodward

;3 nominations

* Amy Adams
* Stéphane Audran
* Annette Bening
* Edith Evans
* Mia Farrow
* Ava Gardner
* Glenda Jackson
* Scarlett Johansson
* Diane Keaton
* Nicole Kidman
* Frances McDormand
* Sarah Miles
* Julianne Moore
* Sissy Spacek
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Charlize Theron
* Emily Watson
* Renée Zellweger

;2 nominations

* Anouk Aimée
* Julie Andrews
* Peggy Ashcroft
* Leslie Caron
* Glenn Close
* Marion Cotillard
* Judy Davis
* Viola Davis
* Faye Dunaway
* Jodie Foster
* Lady Gaga
* Goldie Hawn
* Susan Hayward
* Judy Holliday
* Celia Johnson
* Grace Kelly
* Anna Magnani
* Giulietta Masina
* Virginia McKenna
* Melina Mercouri
* Hayley Mills
* Yvonne Mitchell
* Marilyn Monroe
* Jeanne Moreau
* Patricia Neal
* Natalie Portman
* Emmanuelle Riva
* Julia Roberts
* Rachel Roberts (actress), Rachel Roberts
* Susan Sarandon
* Maria Schell
* Kristin Scott Thomas
* Jean Simmons
* Barbra Streisand
* Sylvia Syms
* Jessica Tandy
* Audrey Tautou
* Uma Thurman
* Rita Tushingham
* Liv Ullmann
* Julie Walters
* Reese Witherspoon
* Ziyi Zhang

Multiple wins

;4 wins
* Maggie Smith

;3 wins
* Anne Bancroft
* Audrey Hepburn
* Simone Signoret

;2 wins
* Cate Blanchett
* Leslie Caron
* Judi Dench
* Jane Fonda
* Katharine Hepburn
* Shirley MacLaine
* Frances McDormand
* Patricia Neal
* Rachel Roberts (actress), Rachel Roberts
* Meryl Streep
* Emma Thompson

See also

* Academy Award for Best Actress
* Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
* Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
* Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
* BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

References

External links

BAFTA Awards Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bafta Award For Best Actress In A Leading Role
British Academy Film Awards
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners,
Film awards for lead actress