# Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a Revival

The Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a Revival was an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
This award was presented from 1976 to 1984, then in 1985 the award was combined with the Actress of the Year in a New Play award to create the Best Actress award. The original Actress of the Year in a Revival award returned one last time, for the 1988 ceremony.

## Winners and nominees
### 1970s

| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Dorothy Tutin | A Month in the Country | Natalya Petrovna |
| 1976 | Susan Fleetwood | The Playboy of the Western World, Hamlet and Tamburlaine the Great | Margaret Flaherty / Ophelia / Zenocrate |
| 1976 | Geraldine McEwan | On Approval | Maria Wislack |
| 1976 | Googie Withers | The Cherry Orchard and An Ideal Husband | Ranevskaya / Lady Chiltern |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Judi Dench | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth |
| 1977 | Francesca Annis | Troilus and Cressida | Cressida |
| 1977 | Susan Fleetwood | The Plough and the Stars | Nora |
| 1977 | Janet Suzman | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Gabler |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Dorothy Tutin | The Double Dealer | Lady Plyant |
| 1978 | Eileen Atkins | Twelfth Night | Viola |
| 1978 | Ingrid Bergman | Waters of the Moon | Helen Lancaster |
| 1978 | Wendy Hiller | Waters of the Moon | Mrs. Whyte |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Zoë Wanamaker | Once in a Lifetime | May Daniels |
| 1979 | Paola Dionisotti | The Taming of the Shrew | Katherina Minola |
| 1979 | Glenda Jackson | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra |
| 1979 | Billie Whitelaw | Happy Days | Winnie |

### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Play | Character |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Judi Dench | Juno and the Paycock | Juno Boyle |
| 1980 | Maria Aitken | Private Lives | Amanda |
| 1980 | Geraldine McEwan | The Browning Version and Harlequinade | Millie Crocker-Harris / Edna Gosport |
| 1980 | Susan Tracy | Anna Christie | Anna Christie |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Margaret Tyzack | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 1981 | Sinéad Cusack | The Maid's Tragedy | Evadne |
| 1981 | Rosemary Harris | All My Sons | Kate Keller |
| 1981 | Penelope Wilton | Man and Superman | Ann Whitefield |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Cheryl Campbell | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer |
| 1982 | Judi Dench | The Importance of Being Earnest | Lady Bracknell |
| 1982 | Felicity Kendal | The Second Mrs Tanqueray | Paula Jarman |
| 1982 | Mary Maddox | Rocket to the Moon | Belle Stark |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Frances de la Tour | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie |
| 1983 | Sinéad Cusack | The Taming of the Shrew | Katherina Minola |
| 1983 | Rosemary Harris | Heartbreak House | Hesione Hushabye |
| 1983 | Helen Mirren | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Vanessa Redgrave | The Aspern Papers | Miss Tina |
| 1984 | Glenda Jackson | Strange Interlude | Nina |
| 1984 | Juliet Stevenson | Measure for Measure | Isabella |
| 1984 | Zoë Wanamaker | Twelfth Night | Viola |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Harriet Walter | A Question of Geography and Twelfth Night and Three Sisters | Dacha / Viola / Masha |
| 1988 | Estelle Kohler | Titus Andronicus and Hello and Goodbye | Tamora / Hester |
| 1988 | Vanessa Redgrave | A Touch of the Poet | Nora Melody |
| 1988 | Imelda Staunton | Uncle Vanya | Sonya |