The Silver Bear for Best Actress () was an award presented at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival. Beginning with the

71st Berlin International Film Festival The 71st annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 1 to 5 March 2021 as a virtual festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Scott Roxborough"Berlin Film Festival Unveils Panorama, Encounters Titles" ''The Hollywood Reporter'', 10 Feb ...

, the award was replaced with two

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, Gender-neutral language, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) ...

categories, Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance and Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival held in 1956,

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Described by ''The Guardian'' as a "versatile star of Hollywood’s international years whose work spanned romantic comedies, period epi ...

was the first winner of this award for her performance in '' Donatella'', and Paula Beer was the last winner in this category for her role in '' Undine'' at the

70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director ...

in 2020.

History

The award was first presented in 1956 and could be for lead or supporting roles. The prize was not awarded on four occasions (1969, 1973–74, and 1990). In 1970, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the controversy over the official selection film, '' o.k.'' by Michael Verhoeven, which led to the resignation of the international jury. In 2011, the entire female cast of '' A Separation'' received the award.

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

has won the most awards in this category, with two. Sachiko Hidari is the only actress to win a joint award for her roles in two different films in the same competition; she won in 1964 for her performances in '' The Insect Woman'' and '' She and He''. The last of this award was given out in 2020, after which it was replaced with

categories, Best Leading Performance and Best Supporting Performance, the following year.

Winners

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple winners

The following actress is the only person to have received multiple Best Actress awards:

Notes

:A: Performer to receive a joint award which honor the outstanding work in multiple different films in the same official competition slate. :B: The entire male and female cast of '' A Separation'' (''جدایی نادر از سیمین'') was recipient of this award.

References

External links

Berlinale website

Berlin Film Festival at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Bear For Best Actress

Actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Awards disestablished in 2020 Awards established in 1956 Awards for actresses Film awards for lead actress Film awards for supporting actress Silver Bear, Best Actress