BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented each year by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.

Winners and nominees

Between 1952 and 1967, two awards were given to the best British and best foreign actress each year. In 1968, the two prizes of British and foreign actress were combined to create a single Best Actress award. Its current title, for Best Actress in a Leading Role, has been used since 1995.

1950s

1952
- Best British Actress – Vivien Leigh – A Streetcar Named Desire
  - Phyllis Calvert – Mandy
  - Celia Johnson – I Believe in You
  - Ann Todd – The Sound Barrier

- Best Foreign Actress – Simone Signoret – Golden Helmet
  - Edwige Feuillère – Olivia
  - Katharine Hepburn – Pat and Mike
  - Judy Holliday – The Marrying Kind
  - Nicole Stephane – Les Enfants terribles

1953
- Best British Actress – Audrey Hepburn – Roman Holiday
  - Celia Johnson – The Captain's Paradise
- Best Foreign Actress – Leslie Caron – Lili
  - Shirley Booth – Come Back, Little Sheba
  - Marie Powers – The Medium
  - Maria Schell – The Heart of the Matter

1954
- Best British Actress – Yvonne Mitchell – The Divided Heart
  - Brenda De Banzie – Hobson's Choice
  - Audrey Hepburn – Sabrina Fair
  - Margaret Leighton – Carrington V.C.
  - Noelle Middleton – Carrington V.C.
- Best Foreign Actress – Cornell Borchers – The Divided Heart
  - Shirley Booth – About Mrs. Leslie
  - Judy Holliday – Phffft!
  - Grace Kelly – Dial M for Murder
  - Gina Lollobrigida – Bread, Love and Dreams

1955
- Best British Actress – Katie Johnson – The Ladykillers
  - Margaret Johnson – Touch and Go
  - Deborah Kerr – The End of the Affair
- Best Foreign Actress – Betsy Blair – Marty
  - Dorothy Dandridge – Carmen Jones
  - Judy Garland – A Star Is Born
  - Julie Harris – I Am a Camera
  - Katharine Hepburn – Summertime
  - Grace Kelly – The Country Girl
  - Giulietta Masina – The Road
  - Marilyn Monroe – The Seven Year Itch

1956
- Best British Actress – Virginia McKenna – A Town Like Alice
  - Dorothy Alison – Reach for the Sky
  - Audrey Hepburn – War and Peace
- Best Foreign Actress – Anna Magnani – The Rose Tattoo
  - Carroll Baker – Baby Doll
  - Eva Dahlbeck – Sommarnattens leende
  - Ava Gardner – Bhowani Junction
  - Susan Hayward – I'll Cry Tomorrow
  - Shirley MacLaine – The Trouble with Harry
  - Kim Novak – Picnic
  - Marisa Pavan – The Rose Tattoo
  - Maria Schell – Gervaise
  - Jean Simmons – Guys and Dolls

1957
- Best British Actress – Heather Sears – The Story of Esther Costello
  - Deborah Kerr – Tea and Sympathy
  - Sylvia Syms – Woman in a Dressing Gown
- Best Foreign Actress – Simone Signoret – The Witches of Salem
  - Augusta Dabney – That Night!
  - Katharine Hepburn – The Rainmaker
  - Marilyn Monroe – The Prince and the Showgirl
  - Lilli Palmer – Anastasia: Die letzte Zarentochter
  - Eva Marie Saint – A Hatful of Rain
  - Joanne Woodward – The Three Faces of Eve

1958
- Best British Actress – Irene Worth – Orders to Kill
  - Hermione Baddeley – Room at the Top
  - Virginia McKenna – Carve Her Name with Pride
- Best Foreign Actress – Simone Signoret – Room at the Top
  - Karuna Bannerjee – The Unvanquished
  - Ingrid Bergman– The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
  - Anna Magnani – Wild is the Wind
  - Giulietta Masina – Nights of Cabiria
  - Tatyana Samojlova – The Cranes Are Flying
  - Elizabeth Taylor – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  - Joanne Woodward – No Down Payment

1959
- Best British Actress – Audrey Hepburn – The Nun's Story
  - Peggy Ashcroft – The Nun's Story
  - Yvonne Mitchell – Sapphire
  - Sylvia Syms – No Trees in the Street
  - Kay Walsh – The Horse's Mouth
- Best Foreign Actress – Shirley MacLaine – Ask Any Girl
  - Rosalind Russell – Auntie Mame
  - Susan Hayward – I Want to Live!
  - Ava Gardner – On the Beach
  - Ellie Lambeti – To Telefteo psema

1960s

1960
- Best British Actress – Rachel Roberts – Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
  - Hayley Mills – Pollyanna
  - Wendy Hiller – Sons and Lovers
- Best Foreign Actress – Shirley MacLaine – The Apartment
  - Pier Angeli – The Angry Silence
  - Monica Vitti – The Adventure
  - Jean Simmons – Elmer Gantry
  - Emmanuelle Riva – Hiroshima Mon Amour
  - Melina Mercouri – Never on Sunday

1961
- Best British Actress – Dora Bryan – A Taste of Honey
  - Deborah Kerr – The Sundowners
  - Hayley Mills – Whistle Down the Wind
- Best Foreign Actress – Sophia Loren – Two Women
  - Annie Girardot – Rocco and His Brothers
  - Piper Laurie – The Hustler
  - Claudia McNeil – A Raisin in the Sun
  - Jean Seberg – Breathless

1962
- Best British Actress – Leslie Caron – The L-Shaped Room
  - Virginia Maskell – The Wild and the Willing
  - Janet Munro – Life for Ruth
- Best Foreign Actress – Anne Bancroft – The Miracle Worker
- Anouk Aimee – Lola
  - Harriet Andersson – Såsom i en spegel
  - Melina Mercouri – Phaedra
  - Jeanne Moreau – Jules and Jim
  - Geraldine Page – Sweet Bird of Youth
  - Natalie Wood – Splendor in the Grass

1963
- Best British Actress – Rachel Roberts – This Sporting Life
  - Julie Christie – Billy Liar
  - Edith Evans – Tom Jones
  - Sarah Miles – The Servant
  - Barbara Windsor – Sparrers Can't Sing
- Best Foreign Actress – Patricia Neal – Hud
  - Joan Crawford – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
  - Bette Davis – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
  - Lee Remick – Days of Wine and Roses
  - Daniela Rocca – Divorce, Italian Style

1964
- Best British Actress – Audrey Hepburn – Charade
  - Julie Andrews – Mary Poppins
  - Edith Evans – The Chalk Garden
  - Deborah Kerr – The Chalk Garden
  - Rita Tushingham – Girl with Green Eyes
- Best Foreign Actress – Anne Bancroft – The Pumpkin Eater
  - Ava Gardner – The Night of the Iguana
  - Shirley MacLaine – Irma la Douce and What a Way to Go!
  - Kim Stanley – Séance on a Wet Afternoon

1965
- Best British Actress – Julie Christie – Darling
  - Julie Andrews – The Americanization of Emily and The Sound of Music
  - Maggie Smith – Young Cassidy
  - Rita Tushingham – The Knack …and How to Get It
- Best Foreign Actress – Patricia Neal – In Harm's Way
  - Jane Fonda – Cat Ballou
  - Lila Kedrova – Zorba the Greek
  - Simone Signoret – Ship of Fools

1966
- Best British Actress – Elizabeth Taylor – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  - Julie Christie – Doctor Zhivago and Fahrenheit 451
  - Lynn Redgrave – Georgy Girl
  - Vanessa Redgrave – Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment
- Best Foreign Actress – Jeanne Moreau – Viva Maria!
  - Brigitte Bardot – Viva Maria!
  - Joan Hackett – The Group

1967
- Best British Actress – Edith Evans – The Whisperers
  - Barbara Jefford – Ulysses
  - Elizabeth Taylor – The Taming of the Shrew
- Best Foreign Actress – Anouk Aimée – A Man and a Woman
  - Bibi Andersson – Persona and Syskonbädd 1782
  - Jane Fonda – Barefoot in the Park
  - Simone Signoret – The Deadly Affair

1968 – Katharine Hepburn – Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter
- Anne Bancroft – The Graduate
- Catherine Deneuve – Belle de jour
- Joanne Woodward – Rachel, Rachel

1969 – Maggie Smith – The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- Mia Farrow – John and Mary , Rosemary's Baby and Secret Ceremony
- Glenda Jackson – Women in Love
- Barbra Streisand – Funny Girl and Hello, Dolly!
- Mary Wimbush – Oh! What a Lovely War

1970s

1970 – Katharine Ross – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
- Jane Fonda – They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
- Goldie Hawn – Cactus Flower as Toni Simmons
- Sarah Miles – Ryan's Daughter

1971 – Glenda Jackson – Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Lynn Carlin – Taking Off
- Julie Christie – The Go-Between
- Jane Fonda – Klute as Bree Daniels
- Goldie Hawn – There's a Girl in My Soup
- Nanette Newman – The Raging Moon
1972 – Liza Minnelli – Cabaret as Sally Bowles
- Stéphane Audran – The Butcher
- Anne Bancroft – Young Winston
- Dorothy Tutin – Savage Messiah

1973 – Stéphane Audran – The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Just Before Nightfall
- Julie Christie – Don't Look Now
- Glenda Jackson – A Touch of Class as Vicki Allesio
- Diana Ross – Lady Sings the Blues as Billie Holiday
- Ingrid Thulin – Viskningar och rop

1974 – Joanne Woodward – Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
- Faye Dunaway – Chinatown as Evelyn Cross Mulwray
- Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were
- Cicely Tyson – The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman as Jane Pittman

1975 – Ellen Burstyn – Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as Alice Hyatt
- Anne Bancroft – The Prisoner of Second Avenue
- Valerie Perrine – Lenny as Honey Bruce
- Liv Ullmann – Scener ur ett äktenskap

1976 – Louise Fletcher – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as Nurse Mildred Ratched
- Lauren Bacall – The Shootist
- Rita Moreno – The Ritz
- Liv Ullmann – Ansikte mot ansikte as Dr. Jenny Isaakson

1977 – Diane Keaton – Annie Hall as Annie Hall
- Faye Dunaway – Network as Diana Christensen
- Shelley Duvall – 3 Women
- Lily Tomlin – The Late Show

1978 – Jane Fonda – Julia as Lillian Hellman
- Anne Bancroft – The Turning Point
- Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman
- Marsha Mason – The Goodbye Girl as Paula McFadden

1979 – Jane Fonda – The China Syndrome as Kimberly Wells
- Diane Keaton – Manhattan
- Maggie Smith – California Suite as Diana Barrie
- Meryl Streep – The Deer Hunter as Linda

1980s

1980 – Judy Davis – My Brilliant Career
- Shirley MacLaine – Being There
- Bette Midler – The Rose as Mary Rose Foster
- Meryl Streep – Kramer vs. Kramer as Joanna Kramer

1981 – Meryl Streep – The French Lieutenant's Woman as Sarah/Anna
- Mary Tyler Moore – Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett
- Maggie Smith – Quartet
- Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner's Daughter as Loretta Lynn

1982 – Katharine Hepburn – On Golden Pond as Ethel Thayer
- Diane Keaton – Reds as Louise Bryant
- Jennifer Kendal – 36 Chowringhee Lane
- Sissy Spacek – Missing

1983 – Julie Walters – Educating Rita as Rita
- Jessica Lange – Tootsie as Julie Nichols
- Phyllis Logan – Another Time, Another Place
- Meryl Streep – Sophie's Choice as Sophie Zawistowska

1984 – Maggie Smith – A Private Function
- Shirley MacLaine – Terms of Endearment as Aurora Greenway
- Helen Mirren – Cal
- Meryl Streep – Silkwood as Karen Silkwood

1985 – Peggy Ashcroft – A Passage to India
- Mia Farrow – The Purple Rose of Cairo
- Kelly McGillis – Witness
- Alexandra Pigg – Letter to Brezhnev

1986 – Maggie Smith – A Room with a View
- Mia Farrow – Hannah and Her Sisters as Hannah
- Meryl Streep – Out of Africa as Karen Blixen
- Cathy Tyson – Mona Lisa

1987 – Anne Bancroft – 84 Charing Cross Road
- Emily Lloyd – Wish You Were Here
- Sarah Miles – Hope and Glory
- Julie Walters – Personal Services

1988 – Maggie Smith – The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
- Stéphane Audran – Babettes gæstebud
- Cher – Moonstruck as Loretta Castorini
- Jamie Lee Curtis – A Fish Called Wanda as Wanda

1989 – Pauline Collins – Shirley Valentine as Shirley Valentine Bradshaw
- Glenn Close – Dangerous Liaisons
- Jodie Foster – The Accused as Sarah Tobias
- Melanie Griffith – Working Girl as Tess McGill

1990s

1990 – Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy as Miss Daisy Werthan
- Shirley MacLaine – Postcards from the Edge as Suzanne Vale
- Michelle Pfeiffer – The Fabulous Baker Boys
- Julia Roberts – Pretty Woman as Vivian Ward

1991 – Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling
- Geena Davis – Thelma & Louise as Thelma Dickinson
- Susan Sarandon – Thelma & Louise as Louise Sawyer
- Juliet Stevenson – Truly, Madly, Deeply

1992 – Emma Thompson – Howards End as Margaret Schlegel
- Judy Davis – Husbands and Wives
- Tara Morice – Strictly Ballroom
- Jessica Tandy – Fried Green Tomatoes as Ninny Threadgoode

1993 – Holly Hunter – The Piano as Ada McGrath
- Miranda Richardson – Tom & Viv as Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot
- Emma Thompson – The Remains of the Day
- Debra Winger – Shadowlands

1994 – Susan Sarandon – The Client as Reggie Love
- Linda Fiorentino – The Last Seduction as Bridget Gregory
- Irène Jacob – Three Colors: Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge)
- Uma Thurman – Pulp Fiction as Mia Wallace

1995 – Emma Thompson – Sense and Sensibility as Eleanor Dashwood
- Nicole Kidman – To Die For as Suzanne Stone Maretto
- Helen Mirren – The Madness of King George
- Elisabeth Shue – Leaving Las Vegas as Sera

1996 – Brenda Blethyn – Secrets & Lies as Cynthia Rose Purley
- Frances McDormand – Fargo as Marge Gunderson
- Kristin Scott Thomas – The English Patient
- Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves

1997 – Judi Dench – Mrs. Brown as Queen Victoria
- Kim Basinger – L.A. Confidential
- Kathy Burke – Nil By Mouth
- Helena Bonham Carter – The Wings of the Dove

1998 – Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I
- Jane Horrocks – Little Voice
- Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare in Love as Viola de Lesseps
- Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pre

1999 – Annette Bening – American Beauty as Carolyn Burnham
- Linda Bassett – East is East
- Julianne Moore – The End of the Affair
- Emily Watson – Angela's Ashes

2000s

2000 – Julia Roberts – Erin Brockovich as Erin Brockovich
- Juliette Binoche – Chocolat
- Kate Hudson – Almost Famous as Penny Lane
- Hilary Swank – Boys Don't Cry as Brandon Teena
- Michelle Yeoh – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)

2001 – Judi Dench – Iris as Iris Murdoch
- Nicole Kidman – The Others
- Sissy Spacek – In the Bedroom as Ruth Fowler
- Audrey Tautou – Amélie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain)
- Renée Zellweger – Bridget Jones's Diary as Bridget Jones

2002 – Nicole Kidman – The Hours as Virginia Woolf
- Halle Berry – Monster's Ball as Leticia Musgrove
- Salma Hayek – Frida as Frida Kahlo
- Meryl Streep – The Hours as Clarissa Vaughan
- Renée Zellweger – Chicago as Roxie Hart

2003 – Scarlett Johansson – Lost in Translation as Charlotte
- Scarlett Johansson – Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Anne Reid – The Mother
- Uma Thurman – Kill Bill: Vol. 1 as The Bride
- Naomi Watts – 21 Grams

2004 – Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake as Vera Drake
- Charlize Theron – Monster as Aileen Wuornos
- Kate Winslet – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Clementine Kruczynski
- Kate Winslet – Finding Neverland
- Zhang Ziyi – House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)

2005 – Reese Witherspoon – Walk the Line as June Carter
- Judi Dench – Mrs Henderson Presents
- Charlize Theron – North Country as Josey Aimes
- Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
- Zhang Ziyi – Memoirs of a Geisha

2006 – Helen Mirren – The Queen as Queen Elizabeth II
- Penélope Cruz – To Return (Volver)
- Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal
- Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada as Miranda Priestly
- Kate Winslet – Little Children

2007 – Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose (La môme) as Édith Piaf
- Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age as Queen Elizabeth I
- Julie Christie – Away From Her as Fiona Anderson
- Keira Knightley – Atonement
- Ellen Page – Juno as Juno MacGuff

2008 – Kate Winslet – The Reader as Hanna Schmitz
- Angelina Jolie – Changeling as Christine Collins
- Kristin Scott Thomas – I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime)
- Meryl Streep – Doubt as Sister Aloysius Beauvier
- Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road as April Wheeler

2009 – Carey Mulligan – An Education as Jenny Mellor
- Saoirse Ronan – The Lovely Bones
- Gabourey Sidibe – Precious as Claireece "Precious" Jones
- Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia as Julia Child
- Audrey Tautou – Coco Before Chanel

2010s

2010 – Natalie Portman - Black Swan as Nina Sayers
- Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right as Nic
- Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right as Jules
- Noomi Rapace – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit as Mattie Ross

2011 – Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher
- Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller
- Viola Davis — The Help as Aibileen Clark
- Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin as Eva Khatchadourian
- Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe

BAFTA Award For Best Actress In A Leading Role Media

Vivien Leigh was the first winner in this category for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Audrey Hepburn won three times for Roman Holiday (1953), The Nun's Story (1959), and Charade (1963)
Rachel Roberts won twice for Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and This Sporting Life (1963)
Shirley MacLaine won for Ask Any Girl (1959) and The Apartment (1960)
Leslie Caron won for The L-Shaped Room (1962)
Elizabeth Taylor won for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Edith Evans won for The Whisperers (1967)
Katharine Hepburn won twice for The Lion in Winter (1968) and On Golden Pond (1981)
Maggie Smith has the most wins in this category for her roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), A Private Function (1984), A Room with a View (1985), and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

Other websites

BAFTA Awards Database