# Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer

The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer (Actor/Actress) is one of the awards given to people working in the film industry by the Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA). It has been awarded since the 2nd Critics' Choice Awards to an actor or actress for a performance in any role, lead or supporting, in a film released that year.
The Best Young Performer award has been presented a total of 33 times, to 31 performers, with Dakota Fanning and Freddie Highmore receiving the award the most, with two wins each. Fanning also holds the distinction of the most-nominated individual in the category, with five. Fanning's younger sister Elle, with three nominations, is the most-nominated individual without a win. Eight performances—by Abigail Breslin, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Lucas Hedges, Jennifer Lawrence, Haley Joel Osment, Saoirse Ronan, Hailee Steinfeld, and Quvenzhané Wallis—nominated in this category are also among the youngest to be recognized with nominations at the Academy Awards, though none have won prizes there.
The first recipient of the award was Jonathan Lipnicki for his performance in Jerry Maguire (1996); the most recent winner is Maisy Stella for her role in My Old Ass (2024).

## Winners and nominees

The following is a full list of the nominees and winners in this category. Performances that also earned a nomination at the Academy Awards are indicated with an asterisk (*).

### 1990s
#### Best Child Performance (1996-2003)

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 1996 | Jonathan Lipnicki | Ray Boyd | Jerry Maguire |
| 1997 | Jurnee Smollett | Eve Batiste | Eve's Bayou |
| 1998 | Ian Michael Smith | Simon Birch | Simon Birch |
| 1999 | Haley Joel Osment* | Cole Sear | The Sixth Sense |

### 2000s

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2000 | Jamie Bell | Billy Elliot | Billy Elliot |
| 2001 | Dakota Fanning | Lucy Diamond Dawson | I Am Sam |
| 2001 | Haley Joel Osment | David | A.I. Artificial Intelligence |
| 2001 | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |
| 2002 | Kieran Culkin | Jason "Igby" Slocumb Jr. | Igby Goes Down |
| 2002 | Tyler Hoechlin | Michael Sullivan Jr. | Road to Perdition |
| 2002 | Nicholas Hoult | Marcus Brewer | About a Boy |
| 2002 | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
| 2003 | Keisha Castle-Hughes* | Paikea "Pai" Apirana | Whale Rider |
| 2003 | Emma Bolger | Ariel Sullivan | In America |
| 2003 | Sarah Bolger | Christy Sullivan | In America |
| 2003 | Evan Rachel Wood | Tracy Freeland | Thirteen |

#### Best Young Actor (2004-2007)

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2004 | Freddie Highmore | Peter Llewelyn Davies | Finding Neverland |
| 2004 | Liam Aiken | Klaus Baudelaire | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| 2004 | Cameron Bright | Young Sean | Birth |
| 2004 | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| 2004 | William Ullrich | Little Bobby | Beyond the Sea |
| 2005 | Freddie Highmore | Charlie Bucket | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
| 2005 | Jesse Eisenberg | Walt Berkman | The Squid and the Whale |
| 2005 | Owen Kline | Frank Berkman | The Squid and the Whale |
| 2005 | Alex Etel | Damian Cunningham | Millions |
| 2005 | Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
| 2006 | Paul Dano | Dwayne Hoover | Little Miss Sunshine |
| 2006 | Cameron Bright | Joey Naylor | Thank You for Smoking |
| 2006 | Joseph Cross | Augusten Burroughs | Running with Scissors |
| 2006 | Freddie Highmore | Max Skinner | A Good Year |
| 2006 | Jaden Smith | Christopher Gardner Jr. | The Pursuit of Happyness |
| 2007 | Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada | Young Hassan | The Kite Runner |
| 2007 | Michael Cera | Paulie Bleeker | Juno |
| 2007 | Freddie Highmore | Evan Taylor / August Rush | August Rush |
| 2007 | Edward Sanders | Tobias "Toby" Ragg | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |

#### Best Young Actress (2004-2007)

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2004 | Emmy Rossum | Christine Daaé | The Phantom of the Opera |
| 2004 | Emily Browning | Violet Baudelaire | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |
| 2004 | Dakota Fanning | Lupita "Pita" Ramos | Man on Fire |
| 2004 | Lindsay Lohan | Cady Heron | Mean Girls |
| 2004 | Emma Watson | Hermione Granger | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban |
| 2005 | Dakota Fanning | Rachel Ferrier | War of the Worlds |
| 2005 | Flora Cross | Eliza Naumann | Bee Season |
| 2005 | Georgie Henley | Lucy Pevensie | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe |
| 2005 | Q'orianka Kilcher | Pocahontas | The New World |
| 2005 | Emma Watson | Hermione Granger | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
| 2006 | Abigail Breslin* | Olive Hoover | Little Miss Sunshine |
| 2006 | Ivana Baquero | Ofelia | Pan's Labyrinth |
| 2006 | Shareeka Epps | Drey | Half Nelson |
| 2006 | Dakota Fanning | Fern Arable | Charlotte's Web |
| 2006 | Keke Palmer | Akeelah Anderson | Akeelah and the Bee |
| 2007 | Nikki Blonsky | Tracy Turnblad | Hairspray |
| 2007 | Dakota Blue Richards | Lyra Belacqua | The Golden Compass |
| 2007 | AnnaSophia Robb | Leslie Burke | Bridge to Terabithia |
| 2007 | Saoirse Ronan* | Briony Tallis, aged 13 | Atonement |

#### Best Young Performer (2008-present)

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2008 | Dev Patel | Jamal Malik | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2008 | Dakota Fanning | Lily Owens | The Secret Life of Bees |
| 2008 | David Kross | Young Michael Berg | The Reader |
| 2008 | Brandon Walters | Nullah | Australia |
| 2009 | Saoirse Ronan | Susie Salmon | The Lovely Bones |
| 2009 | Jae Head | Sean "S.J." Tuohy Jr. | The Blind Side |
| 2009 | Bailee Madison | Isabelle Cahill | Brothers |
| 2009 | Max Records | Max | Where the Wild Things Are |
| 2009 | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Boy | The Road |

### 2010s

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2010 | Hailee Steinfeld* | Mattalyn "Mattie" Ross | True Grit |
| 2010 | Elle Fanning | Cleo | Somewhere |
| 2010 | Jennifer Lawrence* | Ree Dolly | Winter's Bone |
| 2010 | Chloë Grace Moretz | Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl | Kick-Ass |
| 2010 | Chloë Grace Moretz | Abby | Let Me In |
| 2010 | Kodi Smit-McPhee | Owen | Let Me In |
| 2011 | Thomas Horn | Oskar Schell | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close |
| 2011 | Asa Butterfield | Hugo Cabret | Hugo |
| 2011 | Elle Fanning | Alice Dainard | Super 8 |
| 2011 | Ezra Miller | Kevin Khatchadourian | We Need to Talk About Kevin |
| 2011 | Saoirse Ronan | Hanna Heller | Hanna |
| 2011 | Shailene Woodley | Alexandra "Alex" King | The Descendants |
| 2012 | Quvenzhané Wallis* | Hushpuppy | Beasts of the Southern Wild |
| 2012 | Elle Fanning | Ginger | Ginger & Rosa |
| 2012 | Kara Hayward | Suzy Bishop | Moonrise Kingdom |
| 2012 | Tom Holland | Lucas Bennett | The Impossible |
| 2012 | Logan Lerman | Charlie Kelmeckis | The Perks of Being a Wallflower |
| 2012 | Suraj Sharma | Piscine "Pi" Patel | Life of Pi |
| 2013 | Adèle Exarchopoulos | Adèle | Blue Is the Warmest Colour |
| 2013 | Asa Butterfield | Andrew "Ender" Wiggin | Ender's Game |
| 2013 | Liam James | Duncan | The Way Way Back |
| 2013 | Sophie Nélisse | Liesel Meminger | The Book Thief |
| 2013 | Tye Sheridan | Ellis | Mud |
| 2014 | Ellar Coltrane | Mason Evans Jr. | Boyhood |
| 2014 | Ansel Elgort | Augustus Waters | The Fault in Our Stars |
| 2014 | Mackenzie Foy | Murphy "Murph" Cooper | Interstellar |
| 2014 | Jaeden Martell | Oliver Bronstein | St. Vincent |
| 2014 | Tony Revolori | Zero Moustafa | The Grand Budapest Hotel |
| 2014 | Quvenzhané Wallis | Annie Bennett | Annie |
| 2014 | Noah Wiseman | Samuel Vanek | The Babadook |
| 2015 | Jacob Tremblay | Jack Newsome | Room |
| 2015 | Abraham Attah | Agu | Beasts of No Nation |
| 2015 | RJ Cyler | Earl Jackson | Me and Earl and the Dying Girl |
| 2015 | Shameik Moore | Malcolm Adekanbi | Dope |
| 2015 | Milo Parker | Roger Munro | Mr. Holmes |
| 2016 | Lucas Hedges* | Patrick Chandler | Manchester by the Sea |
| 2016 | Alex R. Hibbert | Child Chiron / "Little" | Moonlight |
| 2016 | Lewis MacDougall | Conor O'Malley | A Monster Calls |
| 2016 | Madina Nalwanga | Phiona Mutesi | Queen of Katwe |
| 2016 | Sunny Pawar | Young Saroo | Lion |
| 2016 | Hailee Steinfeld | Nadine Franklin | The Edge of Seventeen |
| 2017 | Brooklynn Prince | Moonee | The Florida Project |
| 2017 | Mckenna Grace | Mary Adler | Gifted |
| 2017 | Dafne Keen | Laura Kinney / X-23 | Logan |
| 2017 | Millicent Simmonds | Rose | Wonderstruck |
| 2017 | Jacob Tremblay | August "Auggie" Pullman | Wonder |
| 2018 | Elsie Fisher | Kayla Day | Eighth Grade |
| 2018 | Thomasin McKenzie | Tom | Leave No Trace |
| 2018 | Ed Oxenbould | Joe Brinson | Wildlife |
| 2018 | Millicent Simmonds | Regan Abbott | A Quiet Place |
| 2018 | Amandla Stenberg | Starr Carter | The Hate U Give |
| 2018 | Sunny Suljic | Stevie | Mid90s |
| 2019 | Roman Griffin Davis | Johannes "Jojo" Betzler | Jojo Rabbit |
| 2019 | Julia Butters | Trudi Frazer | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood |
| 2019 | Shahadi Wright Joseph | Zora Wilson / Umbrae | Us |
| 2019 | Noah Jupe | Otis Lort (12) | Honey Boy |
| 2019 | Thomasin McKenzie | Elsa Korr | Jojo Rabbit |
| 2019 | Archie Yates | Yorki | Jojo Rabbit |

### 2020s

| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
| 2020 | Alan Kim | David Yi | Minari |
| 2020 | Ryder Allen | Sam Burdette | Palmer |
| 2020 | Ibrahima Gueye | Momo | The Life Ahead |
| 2020 | Talia Ryder | Skylar | Never Rarely Sometimes Always |
| 2020 | Caoilinn Springall | Young Iris | The Midnight Sky |
| 2020 | Helena Zengel | Johanna Leonberger / Cicada | News of the World |
| 2021 | Jude Hill | Buddy | Belfast |
| 2021 | Cooper Hoffman | Gary Valentine | Licorice Pizza |
| 2021 | Emilia Jones | Ruby Rossi | CODA |
| 2021 | Woody Norman | Jesse | C'mon C'mon |
| 2021 | Saniyya Sidney | Venus Williams | King Richard |
| 2021 | Rachel Zegler | María Vasquez | West Side Story |
| 2022 | Gabriel LaBelle | Samuel "Sammy" Fabelman | The Fabelmans |
| 2022 | Frankie Corio | Sophie Paterson | Aftersun |
| 2022 | Jalyn Hall | Emmett Till | Till |
| 2022 | Bella Ramsey | Catherine / Birdy | Catherine Called Birdy |
| 2022 | Banks Repeta | Paul Graff | Armageddon Time |
| 2022 | Sadie Sink | Ellie Sarsfield | The Whale |
| 2023 | Dominic Sessa | Angus Tully | The Holdovers |
| 2023 | Abby Ryder Fortson | Margaret Simon | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. |
| 2023 | Ariana Greenblatt | Sasha | Barbie |
| 2023 | Calah Lane | Noodle | Wonka |
| 2023 | Milo Machado-Graner | Daniel Maleski | Anatomy of a Fall |
| 2023 | Madeleine Yuna Voyles | Alpha-O / Alphie | The Creator |
| 2024 | Maisy Stella | Elliott LaBrant | My Old Ass |
| 2024 | Alyla Browne | Young Furiosa | Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga |
| 2024 | Elliott Heffernan | George | Blitz |
| 2024 | Izaac Wang | Chris Wang | Dìdi |
| 2024 | Alisha Weir | Abigail Lazaar | Abigail |
| 2024 | Zoe Ziegler | Lacy | Janet Planet |

## Multiple wins
### 2 wins

* Dakota Fanning
* Freddie Highmore

## Multiple nominations
### 5 nominations

* Dakota Fanning

### 4 nominations

* Freddie Highmore
* Daniel Radcliffe

### 3 nominations

* Elle Fanning
* Saoirse Ronan

### 2 nominations

* Cameron Bright
* Asa Butterfield
* Thomasin McKenzie
* Chloë Grace Moretz
* Haley Joel Osment
* Millicent Simmonds
* Kodi Smit-McPhee
* Hailee Steinfeld
* Jacob Tremblay
* Quvenzhané Wallis
* Emma Watson