# BET Award for Best Actress

The BET Award for Best Actress is awarded to actresses from both television and film. Some nominees have been nominated based on their performances in multiple bodies of work within the eligibility period. Taraji P. Henson holds the record for most wins and nominations in this category with six and eleven respectively.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

### 2000s

| Year | Actress | Work |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Sanaa Lathan | Love & Basketball |
| 2001 | Aaliyah | Romeo Must Die |
| 2001 | Angela Bassett | Boesman and Lena |
| 2001 | Regina King | Down to Earth |
| 2002 | | |
| 2002 | Halle Berry | Monster's Ball |
| 2002 | Aaliyah | Queen of the Damned |
| 2002 | Angela Bassett | The Rosa Parks Story and The Score |
| 2002 | Vivica A. Fox | Boat Trip |
| 2002 | Jada Pinkett Smith | Ali |
| 2003 | | |
| 2003 | Queen Latifah | Chicago |
| 2003 | Halle Berry | Die Another Day |
| 2003 | Sanaa Lathan | Brown Sugar |
| 2003 | Nicole Ari Parker | Brown Sugar |
| 2003 | Gabrielle Union | Cradle 2 the Grave |
| 2004 | | |
| 2004 | Halle Berry | X2 |
| 2004 | Beyoncé | The Fighting Temptations |
| 2004 | Vivica A. Fox | Kill Bill Volume 1 |
| 2004 | Sanaa Lathan | Out of Time |
| 2004 | Gabrielle Union | Bad Boys II |
| 2005 | | |
| 2005 | Regina King | Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous |
| 2005 | Halle Berry | Catwoman |
| 2005 | Kimberly Elise | The Manchurian Candidate |
| 2005 | Queen Latifah | Beauty Shop |
| 2005 | Gabrielle Union | Something The Lord Made |
| 2006 | | |
| 2006 | Taraji P. Henson | Hustle & Flow |
| 2006 | Tichina Arnold | Everybody Hates Chris |
| 2006 | Queen Latifah | Last Holiday |
| 2006 | Thandie Newton | Crash |
| 2006 | Alfre Woodard | Desperate Housewives |
| 2007 | | |
| 2007 | Jennifer Hudson | Dreamgirls |
| 2007 | Tichina Arnold | Everybody Hates Chris |
| 2007 | Angela Bassett | Akeelah and the Bee |
| 2007 | Kerry Washington | The Last King of Scotland |
| 2007 | Chandra Wilson | Grey's Anatomy |
| 2008 | | |
| 2008 | Halle Berry | Perfect Stranger |
| 2008 | Angela Bassett | Meet the Browns |
| 2008 | Queen Latifah | Hairspray |
| 2008 | Jill Scott | Why Did I Get Married? |
| 2008 | Chandra Wilson | Grey's Anatomy |
| 2009 | | |
| 2009 | Taraji P. Henson | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button |
| 2009 | Beyoncé | Cadillac Records and Obsessed |
| 2009 | Angela Bassett | ER and Notorious |
| 2009 | Rosario Dawson | Eagle Eye and Seven Pounds |
| 2009 | Jennifer Hudson | The Secret Life of Bees |

### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Work |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | Mo'Nique | Precious |
| 2010 | Taraji P. Henson | Date Night |
| 2010 | Regina King | Southland |
| 2010 | Zoe Saldana | Avatar and Star Trek |
| 2010 | Gabourey Sidibe | Precious |
| 2011 | | |
| 2011 | Taraji P. Henson | Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story |
| 2011 | Halle Berry | Frankie and Alice |
| 2011 | Regina King | Southland |
| 2011 | Zoe Saldana | Death at a Funeral |
| 2011 | Kerry Washington | For Colored Girls |
| 2012 | | |
| 2012 | Viola Davis | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and The Help |
| 2012 | Angela Bassett | Jumping the Broom |
| 2012 | Taraji P. Henson | Person of Interest |
| 2012 | Regina King | Southland |
| 2012 | Zoe Saldana | Colombiana |
| 2013 | | |
| 2013 | Kerry Washington | Django Unchained and Scandal |
| 2013 | Angela Bassett | Betty and Coretta and Olympus Has Fallen |
| 2013 | Halle Berry | The Call |
| 2013 | Taraji P. Henson | Person of Interest and Think Like a Man |
| 2013 | Gabrielle Union | Think Like a Man |
| 2014 | | |
| 2014 | Lupita Nyong'o | 12 Years a Slave |
| 2014 | Angela Bassett | American Horror Story: Coven |
| 2014 | Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane |
| 2014 | Kerry Washington | Scandal |
| 2014 | Oprah Winfrey | The Butler |
| 2015 | | |
| 2015 | Taraji P. Henson | Empire |
| 2015 | Viola Davis | How to Get Away with Murder |
| 2015 | Tracee Ellis Ross | Black-ish |
| 2015 | Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane |
| 2015 | Kerry Washington | Scandal |
| 2016 | | |
| 2016 | Taraji P. Henson | Empire |
| 2016 | Viola Davis | How to Get Away with Murder |
| 2016 | Tracee Ellis Ross | Black-ish |
| 2016 | Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane |
| 2016 | Kerry Washington | Scandal |
| 2017 | | |
| 2017 | Taraji P. Henson | Hidden Figures and Empire |
| 2017 | Viola Davis | Fences |
| 2017 | Janelle Monáe | Hidden Figures |
| 2017 | Issa Rae | Insecure |
| 2017 | Gabrielle Union | Being Mary Jane |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Tiffany Haddish | Girls Trip |
| 2018 | Angela Bassett | Black Panther and 9-1-1 |
| 2018 | Issa Rae | Insecure |
| 2018 | Taraji P. Henson | Empire |
| 2018 | Lupita Nyong'o | Black Panther and Star Wars: The Last Jedi |
| 2018 | Letitia Wright | Black Panther |
| 2019 | | |
| 2019 | Regina King | If Beale Street Could Talk and Seven Seconds |
| 2019 | Issa Rae | Insecure and Little |
| 2019 | Regina Hall | The Hate U Give and Little |
| 2019 | Taraji P. Henson | Empire |
| 2019 | Tiffany Haddish | The Last O.G. |
| 2019 | Viola Davis | How to Get Away with Murder and Widows |

### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Work |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | Issa Rae | Insecure, The Photograph & The Lovebirds |
| 2020 | Angela Bassett | 9-1-1 and A Black Lady Sketch Show |
| 2020 | Cynthia Erivo | Harriet |
| 2020 | Regina King | Watchmen |
| 2020 | Tracee Ellis Ross | black-ish |
| 2020 | Zendaya | Euphoria and Spider-Man: Far From Home |
| 2021 |
| 2021 | Andra Day | The United States vs. Billie Holiday |
| 2021 | Angela Bassett | 9-1-1 and Soul |
| 2021 | Issa Rae | Insecure |
| 2021 | Jurnee Smollett | Birds of Prey and Lovecraft Country |
| 2021 | Viola Davis | How to Get Away with Murder and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom |
| 2021 | Zendaya | Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie |
| 2022 |
| 2022 | Zendaya | Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home |
| 2022 | Aunjanue Ellis | King Richard |
| 2022 | Coco Jones | Bel-Air |
| 2022 | Issa Rae | Insecure |
| 2022 | Jennifer Hudson | Respect |
| 2022 | Mary J. Blige | Power Book II: Ghost |
| 2022 | Queen Latifah | The Equalizer |
| 2022 | Quinta Brunson | Abbott Elementary |
| 2022 | Regina King | The Harder They Fall |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | Angela Bassett | 9-1-1 and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever |
| 2023 | Coco Jones | Bel-Air |
| 2023 | Janelle James | Abbott Elementary |
| 2023 | Janelle Monáe | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery |
| 2023 | Keke Palmer | Human Resources and Nope |
| 2023 | Viola Davis | The Woman King |
| 2024 |
| 2024 | Regina King | Shirley |
| 2024 | Angela Bassett | 9-1-1 and Damsel |
| 2024 | Ayo Edebiri | The Bear, Bottoms, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Theater Camp |
| 2024 | Coco Jones | Bel-Air |
| 2024 | Danielle Brooks | The Color Purple |
| 2024 | Fantasia | The Color Purple |
| 2024 | Halle Bailey | The Little Mermaid and The Color Purple |
| 2024 | Issa Rae | American Fiction, Barbie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse |