The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The AACTA is a non-profit organisation, whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television". The award is presented annually at the

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the cinema of Australia, film and ...

, which hands out accolades for achievements in

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

, and

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s. From 1971 to 2010, the category was presented by the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

(AFI), the academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards). When the AFI launched the AACTA in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. From 1971 to 1975, it was presented as a special award, and was accompanied with a cash prize, before it became a competitive award from 1976 onward.

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both List of Judy Davis performances, screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses ...

is the most nominated and winning actress in this category, with nine nominations, including six wins, most recently for her role in '' Nitram'' (2021). Candidates for this award must be

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

, and cannot be nominated for the same role in the supporting actress category.

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year. The actress in bold and in dark blue background have received a special award; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning actress first and then the other nominees.Winners and nominees by year: *1971: *1972: *1973: *1974–75: *1976: *1977: *1978: *1979: *1980: *1981: *1982: *1983: *1984: *1985: *1986: *1987: *1988: *1989: *1990: *1991: *1992: *1993: *1994: *1995: *1996: *1997: *1998: *1999: *2000: *2001: *2002: *2003: *2004: *2005: *2006: *2007: *2008: *2009: *2010: *2011: Additional winners and nominees references: * * * * Judy Davis - Eye of The Storm

AFI Awards

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

AACTA Awards

2010s

2020s

Notes

:A: From 1958–2010, the awards were held during the year of the film's release. However, the 1974–1975 awards were held in 1975 for films released in 1974 and 1975, and the first AACTA Awards were held in 2012 for films released in 2011.

References

External links

Official website of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
{{Australian Film Institute Awards A AACTA Award winners Film awards for lead actress