# Zee Cine Award for Best Actor – Female

The Zee Cine Award for Best Actor – Female is chosen by the viewers of Zee Entertainment Enterprises as part of its annual award ceremony for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. Following its inception in 1998, the ceremony was not held in 2009 and 2010, but resumed in 2011. The ceremony was again cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it resumed in 2023.

## Superlatives

| Superlative | Actress | Record |
| Actress with most awards | Alia Bhatt | 4 |
| Actress with most consecutive wins | Alia Bhatt (2018-2020; 2023) | 4 |
| Actress with most consecutive nominations | Alia Bhatt (2017-2020; 2023-2024) | 6 |
| Actress with most nominations | Deepika Padukone | 11 |
| Actress with most nominations without ever winning | Karisma Kapoor | 6 |
| Actress with most nominations in a single year | Kajol (1999); Deepika Padukone (2014) | 3 |
| Eldest Winner | Vidya Balan (2012) | 33 years |
| Youngest Winner | Kajol (1999); Alia Bhatt (2018) | 24 years |
| Eldest Nominee | Hema Malini (2004) | 55 years |
| Youngest Nominee | Zaira Wasim (2018) | 17 years |
* Alia Bhatt is the most awarded actress in this category with four wins, followed by Tabu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Vidya Balan and Deepika Padukone, who each have two wins.
* Alia Bhatt is the actress with the most consecutive wins with four, followed by Tabu, Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan, and Deepika Padukone who each have two consecutive wins.
* Deepika Padukone is the actress with the most nominations in this category, with eleven, followed by Kajol with nine, and Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Alia Bhatt with eight nominations each.
* The actress with the most consecutive nominations is Alia Bhatt, who received nominations for six consecutive years.
* Kajol and Deepika Padukone are the actresses who received the most nominations in a single year, with both being nominated for three films in a single year.
* Karisma Kapoor received the most nominations in this category without ever winning, with six, followed by Preity Zinta with four, and Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, and Shraddha Kapoor with three each.
* Vidya Balan, who won the award for the second time at the age of 33, is the eldest winner, while Hema Malini became the eldest nominee at the age of 55. Kajol and Alia Bhatt are the youngest winners, having received their first awards at the age of 24, while Zaira Wasim became the youngest nominee at the age of 17.
* Vidya Balan was the first actress to win the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut before winning the award for Best Actress, followed by Deepika Padukone.
* Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukerji, and Anushka Sharma are the three actresses who have won both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards.
* Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Deepika Padukone, and Alia Bhatt are the four actresses who have won both the Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) awards. Balan, Padukone, and Bhatt won both awards in the same year, with Balan winning for the same film and Padukone and Bhatt winning for two different films.
* Kajol and Tabu are the two actresses who have won both the Best Actress and Best Villain awards.

## Multiple wins

The following individuals have received two or more Best Actress awards:
| Wins | Actress |
| 4 | Alia Bhatt |
| 2 | Tabu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Vidya Balan, Deepika Padukone |

## Multiple nominations

The following individuals have received two or more Best Actress nominations, including multiple nominations in a single year.
| Nominations | Actress |
| 11 | Deepika Padukone |
| 9 | Kajol |
| 8 | Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukerji, Alia Bhatt |
| 7 | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan |
| 6 | Karisma Kapoor, Vidya Balan |
| 4 | Preity Zinta, Tabu, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma |
| 3 | Madhuri Dixit, Urmila Matondkar, Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani, Shraddha Kapoor |
| 2 | Juhi Chawla, Kangana Ranaut, Sridevi, Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar |

## Winners and nominees

Table key :
| ‡ | Indicates the winner |

### 1990s

| Year | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
| 1998 (1st) | Madhuri Dixit ‡ | Pooja | Dil To Pagal Hai | [2] [3] |
| 1998 (1st) | Juhi Chawla | Madhu Saxena | Ishq | [2] [3] |
| 1998 (1st) | Kajol | Isha Diwan | Gupt | [2] [3] |
| 1998 (1st) | Karisma Kapoor | Nisha | Dil To Pagal Hai | [2] [3] |
| 1998 (1st) | Karisma Kapoor | Meena Nath Malhotra | Hero No. 1 | [2] [3] |
| 1999 (2nd) | Kajol ‡ | Anjali Sharma | Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | |
| 1999 (2nd) | Juhi Chawla | Sonia Kapoor | Duplicate | |
| 1999 (2nd) | Kajol | Naina Sehgal & Sonia Sehgal (Twins) | Dushman | |
| 1999 (2nd) | Kajol | Muskaan Thakur | Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya | |
| 1999 (2nd) | Rani Mukerji | Alisha Mafatlal | Ghulam | |

### 2000s

| Year | Photos of winners | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
| 2000 (3rd) | | Aishwarya Rai ‡ | Nandini Darbar | Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam | |
| 2000 (3rd) | | Aishwarya Rai | Mansi Shankar | Taal | |
| 2000 (3rd) | | Kajol | Nandita Rai | Dil Kya Kare | |
| 2000 (3rd) | | Kajol | Megha | Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain | |
| 2000 (3rd) | | Karisma Kapoor | Pooja Mehra (née Makhija) | Biwi No.1 | |
| 2001 (4th) | | Tabu ‡ | Aditi Pandit | Astitva | |
| 2001 (4th) | | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Preeti Vyas | Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai | |
| 2001 (4th) | | Karisma Kapoor | Fiza Ikramullah | Fiza | |
| 2001 (4th) | | Madhuri Dixit | Anjali | Pukar | |
| 2001 (4th) | | Preity Zinta | Priya Bakshi | Kya Kehna | |
| 2002 (5th) | | Tabu ‡ | Mumtaz Ali Ansari | Chandni Bar | |
| 2002 (5th) | | Ameesha Patel | Sakeena "Sakku" Tara Singh (née Ali) | Gadar: Ek Prem Katha | |
| 2002 (5th) | | Kajol | Anjali Sharma Raichand | Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... | |
| 2002 (5th) | | Karisma Kapoor | Zubeidaa Suleiman Seth / Zubeidaa Mehboob Alam / Rani Meenakshi Devi | Zubeidaa | |
| 2002 (5th) | | Nandita Das | Saanvri | Bawandar | |
| 2003 (6th) | | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ‡ | Parvati "Paro" | Devdas | |
| 2003 (6th) | | Karisma Kapoor | Nandini | Shakti: The Power | |
| 2003 (6th) | | Madhuri Dixit | Chandramukhi | Devdas | |
| 2003 (6th) | | Rani Mukerji | Dr. Suhani Sehgal (née Sharma) | Saathiya | |
| 2003 (6th) | | Tabu | Rewa Singh | Filhaal... | |
| 2004 (7th) | | Urmila Matondkar ‡ | Swati | Bhoot | |
| 2004 (7th) | | Antara Mali | Chutki | Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon | |
| 2004 (7th) | | Hema Malini | Pooja Malhotra | Baghban | |
| 2004 (7th) | | Preity Zinta | Naina Catherine Kapur | Kal Ho Naa Ho | |
| 2004 (7th) | | Rani Mukerji | Priya Chopra Mathur | Chalte Chalte | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Rani Mukerji ‡ | Rhea Prakash | Hum Tum | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Aaliya | Dev | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Mallika Sherawat | Simran Sehgal | Murder | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Preity Zinta | Zaara Hayaat Khan | Veer-Zaara | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Shilpa Shetty | Tamanna Sahni | Phir Milenge | |
| 2005 (8th) | | Urmila Matondkar | Sarika Vartak | Ek Hasina Thi | |
| 2006 (9th) | | Rani Mukerji ‡ | Michelle McNally | Black | [11] [12] |
| 2006 (9th) | | Konkona Sen Sharma | Madhavi Sharma | Page 3 | [11] [12] |
| 2006 (9th) | | Preity Zinta | Ambar "Amby" Malhotra | Salaam Namaste | [11] [12] |
| 2006 (9th) | | Rani Mukerji | Vimmi "Babli" Saluja | Bunty Aur Babli | [11] [12] |
| 2006 (9th) | | Urmila Matondkar | Trisha Chaudhary | Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara | [11] [12] |
| 2006 (9th) | | Vidya Balan | Lalita Roy | Parineeta | [11] [12] |
| 2007 (10th) | | Kajol ‡ | Zooni Qadri (née Ali Beg) | Fanaa | |
| 2007 (10th) | | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Amiran (Umrao Jaan) | Umrao Jaan | |
| 2007 (10th) | | Ayesha Takia | Meera | Dor | |
| 2007 (10th) | | Bipasha Basu | Nishigandha Dasgupta | Corporate | |
| 2007 (10th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Dolly Mishra | Omkara | |
| 2007 (10th) | | Rani Mukerji | Maya Talwar | Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Kareena Kapoor ‡ | Geet Kaur Dhillon | Jab We Met | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Sujata "Suju" Desai | Guru | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Deepika Padukone | Shantipriya aka Shanti & Sandhya "Sandy" Bansal | Om Shanti Om | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Katrina Kaif | Jasmeet "Jazz" Malhotra Singh | Namastey London | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Tabu | Nina Verma | Cheeni Kum | |
| 2008 (11th) | | Vidya Balan | Avni Chaturvedi / Manjulika | Bhool Bhulaiyaa | |
| 2009 (–) | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY |

### 2010s

| Year | Photos of winners | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
| 2010 (–) | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY |
| 2011 (12th) | | Vidya Balan ‡ | Krishna Verma | Ishqiya | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | Sofia D'Souza | Guzaarish | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Anushka Sharma | Shruti Kakkar | Band Baaja Baaraat | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Deepika Padukone | Aaliya Khan | Break Ke Baad | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Kajol | Mandira Khan (née Rathore) | My Name Is Khan | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Daboo | Golmaal 3 | |
| 2011 (12th) | | Katrina Kaif | Indu Pratap (née Seksaria) | Raajneeti | |
| 2012 (13th) | | Vidya Balan ‡ | Reshma / Silk | The Dirty Picture | |
| 2012 (13th) | | Kangana Ranaut | Tanuja Trivedi a.k.a. "Tanu" | Tanu Weds Manu | |
| 2012 (13th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Divya Rana / Chhaya | Bodyguard | |
| 2012 (13th) | | Katrina Kaif | Laila | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | |
| 2012 (13th) | | Priyanka Chopra | Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (also known as Saheb, Suzi, Sultana, Anna and Sunaina) | 7 Khoon Maaf | |
| 2013 (14th) | | Priyanka Chopra ‡ | Jhilmil Chatterjee | Barfi | |
| 2013 (14th) | | Deepika Padukone | Veronica Malaney | Cocktail | |
| 2013 (14th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Rosie / Simran | Talaash: The Answer Lies Within | |
| 2013 (14th) | | Sridevi | Shashi Godbole | English Vinglish | |
| 2013 (14th) | | Vidya Balan | Vidya Bagchi | Kahaani | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Deepika Padukone ‡ | Meenalochni "Meenamma" Azhagusundaram | Chennai Express | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Deepika Padukone | Leela Sanera | Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Deepika Padukone | Naina Talwar | Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Parineeti Chopra | Gayatri | Shuddh Desi Romance | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Shraddha Kapoor | Aarohi Shirke | Aashiqui 2 | |
| 2014 (15th) | | Sonam Kapoor | Zoya Haider | Raanjhanaa | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Deepika Padukone ‡ | Mastani | Bajirao Mastani | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Anushka Sharma | Meera | NH10 | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Deepika Padukone | Piku Banerjee | Piku | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Kangana Ranaut | Tanuja "Tanu" Sharma / Kusum "Datto" Sangwan | Tanu Weds Manu: Returns | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Priyanka Chopra | Kashibai | Bajirao Mastani | |
| 2016 (16th) | | Priyanka Chopra | Ayesha Mehra | Dil Dhadakne Do | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Anushka Sharma ‡ | Aarfa Ali Khan (née Hussain) | Sultan | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Alia Bhatt | Kaira | Dear Zindagi | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Alia Bhatt | Bauria a.k.a. Mary Jane | Udta Punjab | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Fatima Sana Shaikh | Geeta Phogat | Dangal | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Sonam Kapoor | Neerja Bhanot | Neerja | |
| 2017 (17th) | | Taapsee Pannu | Minal Arora | Pink | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Alia Bhatt ‡ | Vaidehi Trivedi | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Bhumi Pednekar | Jaya Sharma (née Joshi) | Toilet: Ek Prem Katha | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Kriti Sanon | Bitti Mishra | Bareilly Ki Barfi | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Sridevi | Devki Sabarwal | Mom | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Vidya Balan | Sulochana "Sulu" Dubey | Tumhari Sulu | |
| 2018 (18th) | | Zaira Wasim | Insia Malik | Secret Superstar | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Alia Bhatt ‡ | Sehmat Syed (née Khan) | Raazi | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Anushka Sharma | Mamta Sharma | Sui Dhaaga | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Deepika Padukone | Padmavati | Padmaavat | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Kalindi Puri | Veere Di Wedding | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Sonam Kapoor | Avni Sharma | Veere Di Wedding | |
| 2019 (19th) | | Taapsee Pannu | Advocate Aarti Malhotra | Mulk | |

### 2020s

| Year | Photos of winners | Actor | Role(s) | Film | Ref. |
| 2020 (20th) | | Alia Bhatt ‡ | Safeena Firdausi | Gully Boy | |
| 2020 (20th) | | Kareena Kapoor | Deepti Batra | Good Newwz | |
| 2020 (20th) | | Kiara Advani | Dr. Preeti Sikka | Kabir Singh | |
| 2020 (20th) | | Kriti Sanon | Rashmi Trivedi | Luka Chuppi | |
| 2020 (20th) | | Rakul Preet Singh | Ayesha Khurana | De De Pyaar De | |
| 2020 (20th) | | Shraddha Kapoor | Maya Sharma | Chhichhore | |
| 2021 (–) | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY |
| 2022 (–) | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY | NO CEREMONY |
| 2023 (21st) | | Alia Bhatt ‡ | Badrunissa Sheikh | Darlings | |
| 2023 (21st) | | Alia Bhatt | Gangubai Kathiawadi | Gangubai Kathiawadi | |
| 2023 (21st) | | Bhumi Pednekar | Sumi Singh | Badhaai Do | |
| 2023 (21st) | | Deepika Padukone | Alisha Khanna | Gehraiyaan | |
| 2023 (21st) | | Kiara Advani | Reet Thakur | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 | |
| 2023 (21st) | | Kriti Sanon | Dr. Anika | Bhediya | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Kiara Advani ‡ | Katha Kapadia | Satyaprem Ki Katha | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Alia Bhatt | Rani Chatterjee | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Deepika Padukone | Rubina "Rubai" Mohsin | Pathaan | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Shraddha Kapoor | Nisha "Tinni" Malhotra | Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Rani Mukerji | Debika Chatterjee | Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway | |
| 2024 (22nd) | | Nayanthara | Narmada Rai | Jawan | |