The

César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

for Best Actress (french: César de la meilleure actrice, link=no) is one of the

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Mi ...

, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role of an actress who has worked within the

French film industry French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary inf ...

during the year preceding the ceremony. Nominees and winner are selected via a run-off voting by all the members of the Académie.

History

Superlatives

As of 2019, 82 actresses have been nominated in the category, with a total of 34 different winners. The average age at first nomination is 36 and the average age of winners at first win is 39. With five wins (1982, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2010), Isabelle Adjani has the most Best Actress Césars. Six actresses have won two Best Actress Césars: Romy Schneider (1976, 1979),

Sabine Azéma Sabine Azéma (born 20 September 1949) is a French stage and film actress and director. Born in Paris, she graduated from the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Career Her film career began in 1975. Azéma appeared in '' A Sunday in the ...

(1985, 1987),

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

(1981, 1993),

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself'' ...

(1983, 2006),

Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, film director and screenwriter. She has won three César Awards from four nominations. Career She made her cinematic debut with director Agnès Varda in two movies: Sept pi� ...

(2005, 2009) and

Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...

(1996, 2017). Adjani also holds the records for most César Awards in an acting category and for most Césars in a single artistic category. She is followed with 4 Césars by

Dominique Blanc Dominique Blanc (born 25 April 1956) is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''May Fools'' (1990), '' Indochine'' (1992), '' La Reine Margot'' (1994), '' Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train'' (1998), and '' The Other One' ...

(1 Best Actress César and 3 Best Supporting Actress Césars) and

(2 Best Actress Césars and 2 Best Supporting Actress Césars).

holds the record of most nominations with 14. Including Best Supporting Actress, Huppert has been nominated a total of 16 times, which makes her the overall most-nominated female performer. Four actresses share the record of most consecutive nominations with 3:

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

(1992, 1993, 1994),

(2001, 2002, 2003),

Kristin Scott Thomas Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress who also holds French citizenship. A five-time BAFTA Award and Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Four Weddings ...

(2009, 2010, 2011) and

(2014, 2015, 2016).

Cécile de France Cécile de France (; born 17 July 1975) is a Belgian actress. After achieving success in French cinema hits such as '' L'Art (délicat) de la séduction'' (2001) and ''Irène'' (2002), she gained international attention for her lead roles in '' ...

is the only actress to have been nominated for two different roles the same year, in 2007 for '' Avenue Montaigne'' and for '' When I Was a Singer''. The Académie has since modified the nomination rules to ensure that no one could receive more than one individual nomination by category. Eight women have won both the César Award for Best Actress and the

César Award for Best Supporting Actress The César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (French: ''César de la meilleure actrice dans un second rôle'') is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outsta ...

: *

(Best Supporting Actress in 1981 and 1982, Best Actress in 1983 and 2006) * Annie Girardot (Best Actress in 1977, Best Supporting Actress in 1996 and 2002), *

(Best Supporting Actress in 1991, 1993 and 1999, Best Actress in 2001), *

Karin Viard Karin Viard (; born 24 January 1966) is a multi-award-winning French actress. She made her film debut in ''Tatie Danielle'' in 1990. She has appeared in films such as ''Delicatessen'', '' L'Emploi du temps'', ''Adultère, mode d'emploi'' and ''L ...

(Best Actress in 2000, Best Supporting Actress in 2003 and 2019), * Marion Cotillard (Best Supporting Actress in 2005, Best Actress in 2008), * Emmanuelle Devos (Best Actress in 2002, Best Supporting Actress in 2010), * Adèle Haenel (Best Supporting Actress in 2014, Best Actress in 2015), * Catherine Frot (Best Supporting Actress in 1997, Best Actress in 2016). *

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award. Early life Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, ...

(Best Actress in 1997, Best Supporting Actress in 2020)

is the only actress with multiple wins in both categories. She is also the only performer to have won an acting César in three consecutive years, in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Three films have received both accolades: ''

One Deadly Summer ''One Deadly Summer'' (french: L'Été meurtrier) is a 1983 French drama film directed by Jean Becker from a screenplay by Sébastien Japrisot, based on Japrisot's 1977 One Deadly Summer (novel), novel of the same name. Isabelle Adjani won a C ...

'' in 1984 (Best Actress to Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting Actress to Suzanne Flon), '' Indochine'' in 1993 (Best Actress to

, Best Supporting Actress to

) and '' Queen Margot'' in 1995 (Best Actress to Isabelle Adjani, Best Supporting Actress to Virna Lisi). Five women have won the César Award for Best Actress after previously winning the César Award for Most Promising Actress: *

Sandrine Bonnaire Sandrine Bonnaire (; born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 40 films. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for ''À Nos Amours'' (1983), the César Award for Best Actr ...

(Most Promising Actress in 1984, Best Actress in 1986), *

Élodie Bouchez Élodie Bouchez-Bangalter (born 5 April 1973) is a French actress. She became internationally known for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show ''Alias'' and for playing Maïté Alvarez in the film '' Wild ...

(Most Promising Actress in 1995, Best Actress in 1999), *

Sylvie Testud Sylvie Testud (born 17 January 1971) is a French actress hose film career est Actress for '' Fear and Trembling'' (2003), and the European Film Award for Best Actress for '' Lourdes'' (2009). Her other film roles include '' Beyond Silence'' ( ...

(Most Promising Actress in 2001, Best Actress in 2004), *

Sara Forestier Sara Forestier (born 4 October 1986) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Forestier began her film career in 2001. She received a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance in '' Games of Love and ...

(Most Promising Actress in 2004, Best Actress in 2011), *

Sandrine Kiberlain Sandrine Kiberlain (born Sandrine Kiberlajn; 25 February 1968) is a French actress and singer. Her most notable roles were in the films '' The Patriots'' (1994), '' A Self Made Hero'' (1996), '' For Sale'' (1998), '' Alias Betty'' (2001), '' Mad ...

(Most Promising Actress in 1996, Best Actress in 2014). Only one film has received both accolades: '' The Dreamlife of Angels'' in 1999 (Best Actress to

, Most Promising Actress to Natacha Régnier). Thirteen women have received nominations in the three competitive acting categories: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Actress. They are

Emmanuelle Béart Emmanuelle Béart (born 14 August 1963)
''Tecinema.jeuxactu.com''. Retrieved 21 April 2020. is a F ...

, Charlotte Gainsbourg,

Anne Brochet Anne Brochet (born 22 November 1966) is a French actress. Career Brochet has appeared in films such as ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', '' Le temps des porte-plumes'', '' 30 ans'', '' Une journée de merde!'' and '' Tous les matins du monde''. She has als ...

, Emmanuelle Devos,

, Marion Cotillard,

Émilie Dequenne Émilie Dequenne (, born 29 August 1981) is a Belgian actress. She first gained attention for playing the title character in the film ''Rosetta'' (1999), which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She then went on to star ...

and Adèle Haenel. So far, no actress has achieved to win the three awards. To date, the longest-living winner is Emmanuelle Riva, who died at 89, and the most short-lived is Romy Schneider, who died at 43. The oldest alive winner is

, aged 77, and the earliest alive winner is Miou-Miou (''

Memoirs of a French Whore ''Memoirs of a French Whore'' (French: ''La Dérobade'') is a French film released in 1979. It was directed by Daniel Duval. It stars Miou-Miou, Maria Schneider and Niels Arestrup. Plot Marie is 19 and is bored in her little suburban life with ...

'', 1980).

Posthumous nominations

There have been only two posthumous nominations for any acting César and both occurred in the Best Actress category. Romy Schneider was nominated in 1983 for '' The Passerby'', seven months after her death possibly by suicide. Pascale Ogier died of a drug overdose at 25, three months before receiving a nomination for ''

Full Moon in Paris ''Full Moon in Paris'' (french: Les nuits de la pleine lune, lit=Full Moon Nights) is a 1984 French romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Pascale Ogier, Tchéky Karyo and Fabrice Luchini. The score is by ...

'' in 1985. Romy Schneider is the only actress to have been presented a posthumous

Honorary César The César Award is France's national film award. Recipients are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. The following are the recipients of the Honorary César award since 1976. Recipients 1970s 1980s 199 ...

, in 2008. Actor

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...

presented the César, as the date also corresponded to the forty years of the iconic film '' La Piscine'' in which they starred together. During the standing ovation, he turned towards a giant portrait of the actress and declared in German that she was the love of his life.

International presence

As the

are centered on the French Cinema, the majority of recipients are

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and performed in

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...

. The only non-French winner of the Best Actress César is Belgian actress

(2005, 2009). Romy Schneider was born German and Bérénice Bejo Argentine, but both had become French naturalized citizens by the time of their wins. International actresses who have received nominations are: *

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

: Soria Zeroual, *

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

: Bérénice Bejo, (she holds dual Argentine-French citizenship), *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Marie Gillain Marie Gillain :fr:Mérite wallon, O.M.W. (born 18 June 1975) is a Belgium, Belgian actress. In 1996 Gillain received the Prix Romy Schneider. She is single and has two daughters, Dune (born in 2004, with musician Martin Gamet) and Vega (born in ...

Virginie Efira Virginie Efira (born 5 May 1977) is a Belgian actress and television presenter. Efira got her first leading role in the romantic comedy '' It Boy'' (2013). She subsequently received critical praise for her performance in the comedy drama '' In B ...

(she holds dual Belgian-French citizenship), *

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

: Sidse Babett Knudsen, *

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

: Nastassja Kinski, Barbara Sukowa *

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (; born 20 September 1964) is a Hong Kong former actress. Raised in Hong Kong and Britain, she started her career after placing second in 1983's Miss Hong Kong Pageant. She achieved critical success in the late 1980s and i ...

, *

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

: Vicky Krieps, *

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

Loubna Abidar Loubna Abidar (born 20 September 1985) is a Moroccan actress. Career Abidar was born in Marrakesh. She made her film debut in ''Much Loved'', which was directed by Nabil Ayouch. The film was banned in Morocco due to its graphic sex scenes. In N ...

, *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

: Irène Jacob, *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

: Jane Birkin,

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...

(she holds dual British-French citizenship), *

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

: Julia Migenes. The Best Actress César has been awarded twice for a foreign-language performance: to Isabelle Adjani for her

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the i ...

performance in '' Possession'' (1982) and to

for her

Japanese-language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ma ...

performance in '' Fear and Trembing'' (2004). In addition, Bérénice Bejo is the only performer in the history of the César to receive an award for a silent role, in '' The Artist'' (2012).

Winners and nominees

Following the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma (AATC)'s practice, the films below are listed by year of ceremony, which corresponds to the year following the film's year of release. For example, the César for Best Actress of 2010 was awarded on February 27, 2010 for a performance in a film released between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Actresses are selected via a two-round vote: first round to choose the nominees, second round to designate the winner. All the members of the Académie, without regard to their branch, are eligible to vote on both rounds. The number of nominees, initially set to four, was expanded to five in 1984 and then to seven in 2012. Winners are listed first in bold, followed by the other nominees in alphabetic order.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple wins and nominations

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

References

External links

*
César Award for Best Actress
at '' AlloCiné'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar Award For Best Actress

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Film awards for lead actress