# Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Leading Actress (General Theatre)

The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role - Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live Canadian theatre.
The award was discontinued after 2018, and merged with the award for Best Leading Actor (General Theatre) into a single gender-neutral award for Best Leading Performer (General Theatre).

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Winner | Nominated |
| 1981 | Roberta Maxwell, Stevie | Michelle Fisk, Loose Ends Lynne Griffin, Arms and the Man Joanne McIntyre, The Crackwalker |
| 1982 | Rosemary Dunsmore, Straight Ahead/Blind Dancers | Clare Coulter, Blood Relations Jennifer Phipps, Filumena Fiona Reid, Night and Day |
| 1983 | Jennifer Phipps, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You | Margot Dionne, What Is to Be Done? Mary Haney, Translations Martha Henry, The Crucible |
| 1984 | Martha Burns, Trafford Tanzi | Jackie Burroughs, White Biting Dog Rosemary Dunsmore, Single Barbara Gordon, The Dining Room Kate Trotter, Top Girls |
| 1985 | Doris Petrie, 'night, Mother | Thuli Dumakude, Poppie Nongena Louise Philippe, De beaux gestes/Beautiful Deeds Jennifer Phipps, L'Amante anglaise Nora McLellan, Uncle Vanya |
| 1986 | Martha Burns, The Miracle Worker | Nancy Beatty, The Wedding Script Nora McLellan, Farther West Patricia Phillips, And a Nightingale Sang Joanna Schellenberg, The Miracle Worker |
| 1987 | Lally Cadeau, Saturday Sunday Monday | Patricia Collins, Pack of Lies Susan Coyne, Aunt Dan and Lemon Deborah Kipp, Talley & Son Djanet Sears, Other Female Parts |
| 1988 | Susan Wright, A Lie of the Mind | Clare Coulter, Peggy's Song Diane D'Aquila, Nothing Sacred Brooke Johnson, Toronto, Mississippi Nancy Palk, I Am Yours |
| 1989 | Tanja Jacobs, Under the Skin | Patricia Conolly, The Road to Mecca Seana McKenna, The Road to Mecca Kate Nelligan, Spoils of War Brenda Robins, My Memories of You |
| 1990 | Nancy Beatty, Love and Anger | Marianne Copithorne, Laughing Wild Tanja Jacobs, The Man I Love Melody Johnson, The Europeans Kate Trotter, The Father |
| 1991 | Seana McKenna, Saint Joan | Robin Craig, A Fertile Imagination Nicola Lipman, Clutching the Heat Fiona Reid, Daylight Saving Tracy Wright, Lion in the Streets |
| 1992 | Nicola Cavendish, Shirley Valentine | Sylvie Drapeau, Elvire Jouvet 40 Seana McKenna, Three Sisters Kate Trotter, Summer and Smoke Janet Wright, Not Wanted on the Voyage |
| 1993 | Fiona Reid, Fallen Angels | Hazel Desbarats, Fallen Angels Rosemary Dunsmore, Fallen Angels Jani Lauzon, Whale Chick Reid, Crimes of the Heart |
| 1994 | Brenda Robins, Dancing at Lughnasa | Michelle Fisk, Homeward Bound Tanja Jacobs, Abundance Nancy Palk, Dancing at Lughnasa Maria Ricossa, The Taming of the Shrew |
| 1995 | Fiona Reid, Six Degrees of Separation | Janet-Laine Green, Transit of Venus Rita Howell, The Wooden Hill Joan Orenstein, Transit of Venus Fiona Reid, Hay Fever |
| 1996 | Nicola Cavendish, Later Life | Anne-Marie Cadieux, The Seven Streams of the River Ota Joan Heney, The Misfit Yanna McIntosh, A Midsummer Night's Dream Nancy Palk, The Glorious 12th |
| 1997 | Lilo Baur, The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol | Marion Gilsenan, Thirteen Hands Sarah Goggin, Oliver Twist Rochelle Oliver, Death of a Salesman Fiona Reid, Arcadia |
| 1998 | Kristen Thomson, Problem Child | Brenda Bazinet, The End of Civilization Colombe Demers, Romeo and Juliet Maggie Huculak, Beating Heart Cadaver Nancy Palk, Molly Sweeney Fiona Reid, A Delicate Balance |
| 1999 | Nancy Beatty, Risk Everything | Maja Ardal, Kilt Martha Burns, The Memory of Water Nicola Cavendish, Les Belles soeurs Nancy Palk, Don Carlos |
| 2000 | Nora McLellan, Music for Contortionist | Linda Griffiths, Alien Creature Rita Lafontaine, Encore une fois, si vous permettez Yanna McIntosh, Belle Jane Spidell, Motel Helene |
| 2001 | Kristen Thomson, I, Claudia | Susan Coyne, An Acre of Time Denise Clarke, Thunderstruck Seana McKenna, Wit Brenda Robins, Slavs |
| 2002 | Yanna McIntosh, Skylight | Marie-Hélène Fontaine, Plan B Caroline Gillis, You Are Here Tanja Jacobs, Elisa's Skin Yanna McIntosh, Belle Fiona Reid, Indian Ink Brenda Robins, The Bald Soprano Jenny Young, The Shape of a Girl |
| 2003 | Kristina Nicoll, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl | Rosemary Dunsmore, The Domino Heart Kate Hennig, The Danish Play Brooke Johnson, The Gwendolyn Poems Mary Krohnert, The Miracle Worker |
| 2004 | Caroline Cave, The Syringa Tree | Martha Burns, Happy Days Nicola Lipman, Simpl Yanna McIntosh, The Syringa Tree Jane Spidell, Blood d'bi young, da kink in my hair |
| 2005 | Irene Poole, The Leisure Society | Marie-Hélène Fontaine, Le Collier d'Hélène Carolyn Hetherington, Half Life Melody Johnson, Trout Stanley Alison Sealy-Smith, Cast Iron |
| 2006 | d'bi young, blood.claat — one womban story | Christine Brubaker, The Amorous Servant Martha MacIsaac, The Wild Duck Yanna McIntosh, The Monument Karen Robinson, Two Can Play |
| 2007 | Seana McKenna, Orpheus Descending | Caroline Cave, John and Beatrice Diane D'Aquila, Leaving Home Meg Roe, Lucy Kristen Thomson, The Chairs |
| 2008 | Lally Cadeau, Rose | Megan Follows, Three Sisters Megan Follows, Top Girls Kelli Fox, Top Girls Arsinée Khanjian, The Palace of the End Nicola Lipman, The December Man |
| 2009 | Alison Sealy-Smith, A Raisin in the Sun | Monica Dottor, Scratch Nicola Lipman, Another Home Invasion Abena Malika, A Raisin in the Sun Waneta Storms, The Patient Hour |
| 2010 | Tara Rosling, If We Were Birds | Laura de Carteret, Hamlet Tara Nicodemo, Hamlet Anusree Roy, Letters to My Grandma Michaela Washburn, Such Creatures |
| 2011 | Yanna McIntosh, Ruined | Michelle Monteith, Blasted Anusree Roy, Brothel #9 Pamela Mala Sinha, Brothel #9 Jane Spidell, Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God - The Africa Trilogy |
| 2012 | Pamela Mala Sinha, Crash | Maev Beaty, The Happy Woman Christine Horne, Andromache Nicole Underhay, The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs Michaela Washburn, White Biting Dog |
| 2013 | Irene Poole, The Little Years | Maev Beaty, Proud Maev Beaty, Terminus Clare Coulter, LEAR Melody Johnson, Miss Caledonia |
| 2014 | Carly Street, Venus in Fur | Lesley Faulkner, Lungs Holly Lewis, Tribes Nancy Palk, Angels in America: Perestroika Fiona Reid, Entertaining Mr Sloane |
| 2015 | Nicky Guadagni, Hooked | Maev Beaty, The De Chardin Project Rosemary Dunsmore, Tom at the Farm Alanna Hibbert, The Mountaintop Fiona Reid, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike |
| 2016 | Rebecca Northan, Blind Date | Valerie Buhagiar, Botticelli in the Fire and Sunday in Sodom Sarah Dodd, Mustard Mayko Nguyen, Salt-Water Moon Anusree Roy, Bombay Black |
| 2017 | Maev Beaty, The Last Wife | Lisa Berry, Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts I, II, III) Diane Flacks, Body Politic Katherine Gauthier, A Doll's House Shruti Kothari, Little Pretty and the Exceptional |
| 2018 | Michaela Washburn, Confederation & Riel | Vivien Endicott-Douglas, Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) Seana McKenna, Lear Brenda Robins, A Delicate Balance Michaela Washburn, Scandal & Rebellion |