# AACTA International Award for Best Actress

The AACTA International Award for Best Lead Actress is an award that is presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), for a performance by a female actor in a film made outside Australia. It was first handed out by the Academy after its establishment in 2011 by the Australian Film Institute (AFI). The winners and nominees for 2011 were determined by a jury. The award was presented at the inaugural AACTA International Awards in Los Angeles, on 27 January 2012.

## Winners and nominees

In the following table, the winner is listed first, marked in a separate colour, and highlighted in boldface; the nominees are those that are listed below the winner, and not highlighted or in boldface.
* † - indicates a winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress
* ‡ - indicates a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress

### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2011 (1st) |
| 2011 (1st) | Meryl Streep † | The Iron Lady | Margaret Thatcher |
| 2011 (1st) | Glenn Close ‡ | Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs |
| 2011 (1st) | Kirsten Dunst | Melancholia | Justine |
| 2011 (1st) | Tilda Swinton | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Eva Khatchadourian |
| 2011 (1st) | Mia Wasikowska | Jane Eyre | Jane Eyre |
| 2011 (1st) | Michelle Williams ‡ | My Week with Marilyn | Marilyn Monroe |
| 2012 (2nd) |
| 2012 (2nd) | Jennifer Lawrence † | Silver Linings Playbook | Tiffany Maxwell |
| 2012 (2nd) | Jessica Chastain ‡ | Zero Dark Thirty | Maya |
| 2012 (2nd) | Marion Cotillard | Rust and Bone | Stephanie |
| 2012 (2nd) | Nicole Kidman | The Paperboy | Charlotte Bless |
| 2012 (2nd) | Emmanuelle Riva ‡ | Amour | Anne Laurent |
| 2012 (2nd) | Naomi Watts ‡ | The Impossible | Maria Bennett |
| 2013 (3rd) |
| 2013 (3rd) | Cate Blanchett † | Blue Jasmine | Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis |
| 2013 (3rd) | Amy Adams ‡ | American Hustle | Sydney Prosser |
| 2013 (3rd) | Sandra Bullock ‡ | Gravity | Dr. Ryan Stone |
| 2013 (3rd) | Judi Dench ‡ | Philomena | Philomena Lee |
| 2013 (3rd) | Meryl Streep ‡ | August: Osage County | Violet Weston |
| 2014 (4th) |
| 2014 (4th) | Julianne Moore † | Still Alice | Alice Howland |
| 2014 (4th) | Essie Davis | The Babadook | Amelia |
| 2014 (4th) | Felicity Jones ‡ | The Theory of Everything | Jane Wilde Hawking |
| 2014 (4th) | Rosamund Pike ‡ | Gone Girl | Amy Elliott-Dunne |
| 2014 (4th) | Reese Witherspoon ‡ | Wild | Cheryl Strayed |
| 2015 (5th) |
| 2015 (5th) | Cate Blanchett ‡ | Carol | Carol Aird |
| 2015 (5th) | Emily Blunt | Sicario | Kate Macer |
| 2015 (5th) | Brie Larson † | Room | Joy "Ma" Newsome |
| 2015 (5th) | Saoirse Ronan ‡ | Brooklyn | Eilis Lacey |
| 2015 (5th) | Charlize Theron | Mad Max: Fury Road | Imperator Furiosa |
| 2016 (6th) |
| 2016 (6th) | Emma Stone † | La La Land | Mia Dolan |
| 2016 (6th) | Amy Adams | Arrival | Dr. Louise Banks |
| 2016 (6th) | Isabelle Huppert ‡ | Elle | Michèle Leblanc |
| 2016 (6th) | Ruth Negga ‡ | Loving | Mildred Loving |
| 2016 (6th) | Natalie Portman ‡ | Jackie | Jackie Kennedy |
| 2017 (7th) |
| 2017 (7th) | Margot Robbie ‡ | I, Tonya | Tonya Harding |
| 2017 (7th) | Judi Dench | Victoria & Abdul | Queen Victoria |
| 2017 (7th) | Sally Hawkins ‡ | The Shape of Water | Elisa Esposito |
| 2017 (7th) | Frances McDormand † | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Mildred Hayes |
| 2017 (7th) | Saoirse Ronan ‡ | Lady Bird | Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson |
| 2018 (8th) |
| 2018 (8th) | Olivia Colman † | The Favourite | Queen Anne |
| 2018 (8th) | Glenn Close ‡ | The Wife | Joan Castleman |
| 2018 (8th) | Toni Collette | Hereditary | Annie Graham |
| 2018 (8th) | Lady Gaga ‡ | A Star Is Born | Ally Maine |
| 2018 (8th) | Nicole Kidman | Destroyer | Erin Bell |
| 2019 (9th) |
| 2019 (9th) | Saoirse Ronan ‡ | Little Women | Josephine "Jo" March |
| 2019 (9th) | Awkwafina | The Farewell | Billi Wang |
| 2019 (9th) | Scarlett Johansson ‡ | Marriage Story | Nicole Barber |
| 2019 (9th) | Charlize Theron ‡ | Bombshell | Megyn Kelly |
| 2019 (9th) | Renée Zellweger † | Judy | Judy Garland |

### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2020 (10th) |
| 2020 (10th) | Carey Mulligan ‡ | Promising Young Woman | Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas |
| 2020 (10th) | Viola Davis ‡ | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Ma Rainey |
| 2020 (10th) | Vanessa Kirby ‡ | Pieces of a Woman | Martha Weiss |
| 2020 (10th) | Frances McDormand † | Nomadland | Fern |
| 2020 (10th) | Eliza Scanlen | Babyteeth | Milla Finlay |
| 2021 (11th) |
| 2021 (11th) | Nicole Kidman ‡ | Being the Ricardos | Lucille Ball |
| 2021 (11th) | Penélope Cruz ‡ | Parallel Mothers | Janis Martinez |
| 2021 (11th) | Lady Gaga | House of Gucci | Patrizia Reggiani |
| 2021 (11th) | Jennifer Hudson | Respect | Aretha Franklin |
| 2021 (11th) | Kristen Stewart ‡ | Spencer | Princess Diana |
| 2022 (12th) |
| 2022 (12th) | Cate Blanchett ‡ | Tár | Lydia Tár |
| 2022 (12th) | Ana de Armas ‡ | Blonde | Norma Jeane Mortenson / Marilyn Monroe |
| 2022 (12th) | Margot Robbie | Babylon | Nellie LaRoy |
| 2022 (12th) | Michelle Williams ‡ | The Fabelmans | Mitzi Fabelman |
| 2022 (12th) | Michelle Yeoh † | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Evelyn Wang |
| 2023 (13th) |
| 2023 (13th) | Margot Robbie | Barbie | Barbie |
| 2023 (13th) | Cate Blanchett | The New Boy | Sister Eileen |
| 2023 (13th) | Lily Gladstone ‡ | Killers of the Flower Moon | Mollie Kyle |
| 2023 (13th) | Carey Mulligan ‡ | Maestro | Felicia Montealegre |
| 2023 (13th) | Emma Stone † | Poor Things | Bella Baxter |
| 2024 (14th) |
| 2024 (14th) | Nicole Kidman | Babygirl | Romy Mathis |
| 2024 (14th) | Kirsten Dunst | Civil War | Lee Smith |
| 2024 (14th) | Karla Sofía Gascón ‡ | Emilia Pérez | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 (14th) | Mikey Madison † | Anora | Anora "Ani" Mikheeva |
| 2024 (14th) | Kate Winslet | Lee | Lee Miller |

## Multiple wins and nominations

The following individuals received two or more Best Actress awards:
| Wins | Actress |
| 3 | Cate Blanchett |
| 2 | Nicole Kidman |
| 2 | Margot Robbie |
The following individuals received two or more Best Actress nominations:
| Nominations | Actress |
| 4 | Cate Blanchett |
| 4 | Nicole Kidman |
| 3 | Saoirse Ronan |
| 3 | Margot Robbie |
| 2 | Amy Adams |
| 2 | Glenn Close |
| 2 | Judi Dench |
| 2 | Lady Gaga |
| 2 | Frances McDormand |
| 2 | Carey Mulligan |
| 2 | Emma Stone |
| 2 | Meryl Streep |
| 2 | Charlize Theron |
| 2 | Michelle Williams |