# Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress

The Best Actress Award (French: Prix d'interprétation féminine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival.
At the 1st Cannes Film Festival held in 1946, Michèle Morgan was the first winner of this award for her performance in Pastoral Symphony, while Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña are the most recent winners in this category for their roles in Emilia Pérez at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024.

## History

The award was first presented in 1946. The prize was not awarded on three occasions (1947, 1953, and 1954). The festival was not held at all in 1948, 1950, and 2020. In 1968, no awards were given as the festival was called off mid-way due to the May 1968 events in France.
On five occasions, the jury has awarded multiple women (more than 2) the prize for one film. The five films were A Big Family (1955), Brink of Life (1958), A World Apart (1988), Volver (2006), and Emilia Pérez (2024).
Vanessa Redgrave, Barbara Hershey, Helen Mirren, and Isabelle Huppert have won the most awards in this category, each winning twice. Hershey is the only actress to win the award in consecutive years, for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988).
Isabelle Adjani is the only actress to win for roles in two different films in the same competition, for her performances in Possession and Quartet in 1981.
The award can be for lead or supporting roles, with the exception of the period from 1979 to 1981, when the festival used to award a separate "Best Supporting Actress" prize. The jury also, on occasion, cites actresses with a special citation that is separate from the main award.

## Winners

Table key :
| ‡ | Indicates the Best Supporting Actress winner |

### 1940s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title | Ref. |
| 1946 | Michèle Morgan | Gertrude | Pastoral Symphony | |
| 1949 | Isa Miranda | Marta Manfredini | The Walls of Malapaga | |

### 1950s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title | Ref. |
| 1951 | Bette Davis | Margo Channing | All About Eve | |
| 1952 | Lee Grant | The Shoplifter | Detective Story | |
| 1955 | Elena Dobronravova | Katya Travnikova | A Big Family | |
| 1955 | Vera Kuznetsova | Agafya Karpovna Zhurbina | A Big Family | |
| 1955 | Klara Luchko | Lida Zhurbina | A Big Family | |
| 1955 | Ekaterina Savinova | Dunyasha Zhurbina | A Big Family | |
| 1955 | Iya Arepina | Tanya Zhurbina | A Big Family | |
| 1955 | Larisa Kronberg | Zina Ivanova | A Big Family | |
| 1956 | Susan Hayward | Lillian Roth | I'll Cry Tomorrow | |
| 1957 | Giulietta Masina | Maria "Cabiria" Ceccarelli | Nights of Cabiria | |
| 1958 | Bibi Andersson | Hjördis Petterson | Brink of Life | [8] [9] |
| 1958 | Eva Dahlbeck | Stina Andersson | Brink of Life | [8] [9] |
| 1958 | Barbro Hiort af Ornäs | Nurse Brita | Brink of Life | [8] [9] |
| 1958 | Ingrid Thulin | Cecilia Ellius | Brink of Life | [8] [9] |
| 1959 | Simone Signoret | Alice Aisgill | Room at the Top | |

### 1960s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title | Ref. |
| 1960 | Melina Mercouri | Ilya | Never on Sunday | |
| 1960 | Jeanne Moreau | Anne Desbarèdes | Seven Days... Seven Nights | |
| 1961 | Sophia Loren | Cesira | Two Women | |
| 1962 | Katharine Hepburn | Mary Cavan Tyrone | Long Day's Journey into Night | [13] [14] |
| 1962 | Rita Tushingham | Josephine ("Jo") | A Taste of Honey | A Taste of Honey | [13] [14] |
| 1963 | Marina Vlady | Regina | The Conjugal Bed | |
| 1964 | Anne Bancroft | Jo Armitage | The Pumpkin Eater | |
| 1964 | Barbara Barrie | Julie Cullen Richards | One Potato, Two Potato | |
| 1965 | Samantha Eggar | Miranda Grey | The Collector | |
| 1966 | Vanessa Redgrave | Leonie Delt | Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment | |
| 1967 | Pia Degermark | Elvira Madigan | Elvira Madigan | [19] [20] |
| 1969 | Vanessa Redgrave | Isadora Duncan | Isadora | |

### 1970s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title | Ref. |
| 1970 | Ottavia Piccolo | Ersilia | Metello | |
| 1971 | Kitty Winn | Helen Reeves | The Panic in Needle Park | |
| 1972 | Susannah York | Cathryn | Images | |
| 1973 | Joanne Woodward | Beatrice Hunsdorfer | The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | |
| 1974 | Marie-José Nat | Elle / Michel's wife | Violins at the Ball | |
| 1975 | Valérie Perrine | Honey Bruce | Lenny | |
| 1976 | Dominique Sanda | Irene Carelli Ferramonti | The Inheritance | |
| 1976 | Mari Törőcsik | Déryné | Mrs. Dery Where Are You? | |
| 1977 | Shelley Duvall | Mildred "Millie" Lammoreaux | 3 Women | |
| 1977 | Monique Mercure | Rose-Aimee Martin | J.A. Martin Photographer | J.A. Martin Photographer | |
| 1978 | Jill Clayburgh | Erica Benton | An Unmarried Woman | |
| 1978 | Isabelle Huppert | Violette Nozière | Violette Nozière | |
| 1979 | Sally Field | Norma Rae Webster | Norma Rae | [31] [32] |
| 1979 | / Eva Mattes ‡ | Marie | Woyzeck | Woyzeck | [31] [32] |

### 1980s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title | Ref. |
| 1980 | Anouk Aimée | Marta Ponticelli | A Leap in the Dark | [33] [34] |
| 1980 | Milena Dravić ‡ # | Kaca | Special Treatment | [33] [34] |
| 1980 | Carla Gravina ‡ # | Carla | La terrazza | [33] [34] |
| 1981 | Isabelle Adjani | Anna / Helen | Possession | [35] [36] |
| 1981 | Isabelle Adjani | Marya 'Mado' Zelli | Quartet | [35] [36] |
| 1981 | Elena Solovey ‡ | Ona | Faktas | [35] [36] |
| 1982 | Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak | Eva Szalanczky | Another Way | |
| 1983 | Hanna Schygulla | Eugenia | The Story of Piera | |
| 1984 | Helen Mirren | Marcella | Cal | |
| 1985 | Norma Aleandro | Alicia Marnet de Ibáñez | The Official Story | |
| 1985 | Cher | Florence "Rusty" Dennis | Mask | |
| 1986 | Barbara Sukowa | Rosa Luxemburg | Rosa Luxemburg | |
| 1986 | Fernanda Torres | The Woman | Love Me Forever or Never | |
| 1987 | Barbara Hershey | Ruth | Shy People | |
| 1988 | Barbara Hershey | Diana Roth | A World Apart | |
| 1988 | Jodhi May | Molly Roth | A World Apart | |
| 1988 | Linda Mvusi | Elsie | A World Apart | |
| 1989 | Meryl Streep | Lindy Chamberlain | A Cry in the Dark | |

### 1990s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title |
| 1990 | Krystyna Janda | Antonina 'Tonia' Dziwisz | Interrogation |
| 1991 | / Irène Jacob | Weronika / Véronique | The Double Life of Veronique |
| 1992 | Pernilla August | Anna Åkerblom Bergman | The Best Intentions |
| 1993 | Holly Hunter | Ada McGrath | The Piano |
| 1994 | Virna Lisi | Catherine de' Medici | La Reine Margot |
| 1995 | Helen Mirren | Queen Charlotte | The Madness of King George |
| 1996 | Brenda Blethyn | Cynthia Rose Purley | Secrets & Lies |
| 1997 | Kathy Burke | Valerie | Nil by Mouth |
| 1998 | Élodie Bouchez | Isabelle 'Isa' Tostin | The Dreamlife of Angels |
| 1998 | Natacha Régnier | Marie Thomas | The Dreamlife of Angels |
| 1999 | Séverine Caneele | Dominio | Humanité |
| 1999 | Émilie Dequenne | Rosetta | Rosetta |

### 2000s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title |
| 2000 | Björk | Selma Ježková | Dancer in the Dark |
| 2001 | Isabelle Huppert | Erika Kohut | The Piano Teacher |
| 2002 | Kati Outinen | Irma | The Man Without a Past |
| 2003 | Marie-Josée Croze | Nathalie | The Barbarian Invasions |
| 2004 | / Maggie Cheung | Emily Wang | Clean |
| 2005 | Hanna Laslo | Hanna | Free Zone |
| 2006 | Penélope Cruz | Raimunda | Volver |
| 2006 | Carmen Maura | Irene | Volver |
| 2006 | Lola Dueñas | Soledad ("Sole") | Volver |
| 2006 | Blanca Portillo | Agustina | Volver |
| 2006 | Yohana Cobo | Paula | Volver |
| 2006 | Chus Lampreave | Tía Paula | Volver |
| 2007 | Jeon Do-yeon | Lee Shin-ae | Secret Sunshine |
| 2008 | Sandra Corveloni | Cleuza | Linha de Passe |
| 2009 | / Charlotte Gainsbourg | She | Antichrist |

### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title |
| 2010 | Juliette Binoche | The Woman | Certified Copy |
| 2011 | / Kirsten Dunst | Justine | Melancholia |
| 2012 | Cristina Flutur | Alina | Beyond the Hills |
| 2012 | Cosmina Stratan | Voichita | Beyond the Hills |
| 2013 | / Bérénice Bejo | Marie Brisson | The Past |
| 2014 | / Julianne Moore | Havana Segrand | Maps to the Stars |
| 2015 | Emmanuelle Bercot | Marie-Antoinette Jézéquel | Mon Roi |
| 2015 | Rooney Mara | Therese Belivet | Carol |
| 2016 | Jaclyn Jose | Rosa | Ma' Rosa |
| 2017 | / Diane Kruger | Katja Sekerci | In the Fade |
| 2018 | Samal Yeslyamova | Ayka | Ayka |
| 2019 | / Emily Beecham | Alice Woodard | Little Joe |

### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Role(s) | English Title |
| 2021 | Renate Reinsve | Julie | The Worst Person in the World |
| 2022 | / Zar Amir Ebrahimi | Arezoo Rahimi | Holy Spider |
| 2023 | Merve Dizdar | Nuray | About Dry Grasses |
| 2024 | Karla Sofía Gascón | Emilia Perez | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 | Selena Gomez | Jessi del Monte | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 | Adriana Paz | Epifanía Flores | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 | / Zoe Saldaña | Rita Mora Castro | Emilia Pérez |

## Multiple winners

The following individuals have received multiple Best Actress awards:
| Number of Wins | Actress | Nationality | Films |
| 2 | Barbara Hershey | United States | Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988) |
| 2 | Helen Mirren | United Kingdom | Cal (1984) and The Madness of King George (1995) |
| 2 | Isabelle Huppert | France | Violette Nozière (1978) and The Piano Teacher (2001) |
| 2 | Vanessa Redgrave | United Kingdom | Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966) and Isadora (1969) |