# Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress

The Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress is an annual award presented jointly by The Village Voice and the American Theatre Wing in recognition of achievements in Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theatre productions in New York City. The awards were established in 1956 by The Village Voice.
The award has no nominees and there is no set number of winners per year. Each performance listed by year below was given an award and they are listed in no particular order. The award can be for a lead or supporting performance and in a play or musical, and can recognize an actress for collective performances in more than one production during the same season. On occasion, the Obie Awards committee will give an actress an award "for sustained excellence of performance", recognizing their ongoing contributions.
In 2014, Sydney Lucas became the youngest winner in Obie history, at age 10.

## 1950s

| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1956 | Peggy McCay | Uncle Vanya | Sofia |
| 1956 | Shirlee Emmons | The Mother of Us All | Susan B. Anthony |
| 1956 | Nancy Wickwire | The Cherry Orchard | Varya |
| 1956 | Julie Bovasso | The Maids | Claire |
| 1956 | Frances Sternhagen | The Admirable Bashville | Lydia Carew |
| 1957 | Betty Miller | Exiles | Beatrice |
| 1957 | Marguerite Lenert | The House of Breath | Granny Ganchion |
| 1957 | Colleen Dewhurst | The Taming of the Shrew & The Eagle Has Two Heads & Camille | Kate / The Queen / Marguerite Gautier |
| 1957 | Jutta Wolf | Exiles | Bertha |
| 1958 | Grania O'Malley | Guests of the Nation | Kate O'Connell |
| 1958 | Nydia Westman | Endgame | Nell |
| 1958 | Anne Meacham | Garden District | Catharine Holly |
| 1958 | Tammy Grimes | Clerambard | The Flounder |
| 1959 | Nancy Wickwire | A Clearing in the Woods | Virginia |
| 1959 | Kathleen Maguire | The Time of the Cuckoo | Leona Samish |
| 1959 | Anne Fielding | Ivanov | Sasha |
| 1959 | Rosina Fernhoff | Fashion & The Geranium Hat | Gertrude / Anne-Betty |

## 1960s

| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1960 | Eileen Brennan | Little Mary Sunshine | Mary Potts |
| 1960 | Patricia Falkenhain | Peer Gynt & Henry IV, Part 1 | The Greenclad Woman / Doll Tearsheet |
| 1960 | Elisa Loti | Come Share My House | – |
| 1960 | Nancy Marchand | The Balcony | Irma |
| 1961 | Joan Hackett | Call Me By My Rightful Name | Chris |
| 1961 | Gerry Jedd | She Stoops to Conquer | Kate Hardcastle |
| 1961 | Surya Kamari | The King of the Dark Chamber | Queen Sudarshana |
| 1961 | Anne Meacham | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Gabler |
| 1962 | Ruth White | Happy Days | Winnie |
| 1962 | Sudie Bond | Theatre of the Absurd | Nell |
| 1962 | Barbara Harris | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You | Rosalie |
| 1962 | Rosemary Harris | The Tavern & The School for Scandal & The Seagull | Virginia / Lady Teazle / Nina |
| 1962 | Vinnette Carroll | Moon on a Rainbow Shawl | Sophia |
| 1963 | Olympia Dukakis | A Man's a Man | Leocadia Begbick |
| 1963 | Madeleine Sherwood | Hey You, Light Man! | Lula Roca |
| 1963 | Jacqueline Brookes | Six Characters in Search of an Author | The Step/Daughter |
| 1963 | Anne Jackson | The Typists & The Tiger | Sylvia Payton / Gloria Fiske |
| 1963 | Colleen Dewhurst | Desire Under the Elms | Abbie Putnam |
| 1964 | Gloria Foster | In White America | Claudette Nevins |
| 1964 | Marian Seldes | The Ginger Man | Miss Frost |
| 1964 | Lee Grant | The Maids | Solange |
| 1964 | Joyce Ebert | The Trojan Women | Andromache |
| 1964 | Estelle Parsons | Next Time I'll Sing to You & In the Summer House | Lizzie / Gertrude Eastman Cuevas |
| 1964 | Diana Sands | The Living Premise in Living Color | Various Characters |
| 1965 | Sada Thompson | Tartuffe | Dorine |
| 1965 | Rosemary Harris | Judith & Man and Superman & War and Peace | Judith / Violet Robinson / Natasha Rostova |
| 1965 | Margaret DePriest | The Place for Chance | Various Characters |
| 1965 | Frances Sternhagen | The Room & A Slight Ache | Rose / Flora |
| 1966 | Clarice Blackburn | The Exhaustion of Our Son's Love | Sara Calendar |
| 1966 | Florence Tarlow | Red Cross & Istanbul & A Beautiful Day | The Maid / – / Various Characters |
| 1966 | Jane White | Coriolanus & Love's Labour's Lost | Volumnia / Princess of France |
| 1966 | Mari-Claire Charba | Birdbath | Velma Sparrow |
| 1966 | Sharon Gans | Soon Jack November | – |
| 1966 | Gloria Foster | Medea | Medea |
| 1967 | Bette Henritze | Measure for Measure & The Long Christmas Dinner & Queens of France & The Displaced Person & The Rimers of Eldritch & All's Well That Ends Well | Mariana / Ermengarde / Mademoiselle Pointevin / Mrs. Shortley / Mary Windrod / Mariana |
| 1968 | Peggy Pope | Muzeeka | Evelyn Landis |
| 1968 | Mari Gorman | The Memorandum & Walking to Waldheim | Maria / Zelda Sher |
| 1968 | Billie Dixon | The Beard | Harlow |
| 1969 | Arlene Rothlein | The Poor Little Match Girl | Girl |
| 1969 | Julie Bovasso | Gloria and Esperanza | Gloria B. Gilbert |
| 1969 | Judith Malina | Antigone | Antigone |

## 1970s

* ‡ – indicates the performance was also nominated for a Tony Award (any of Actress in a Play or Musical, Featured Actress in a Play or Musical) after transferring to Broadway
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1970 | Rue McClanahan | Who's Happy Now? | Faye Precious |
| 1970 | Sada Thompson | The Effect of Gamma Rays | Beatrice Hunsdorfer |
| 1970 | Roberta Maxwell | A Whistle In the Dark | Betty Carney |
| 1970 | Pamela Payton-Wright | The Effect of Gamma Rays | Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer |
| 1970 | Fredricka Weber | The Last Sweet Days of Isaac | Ingrid / Alice |
| 1971 | Ruby Dee | Boesman and Lena | Lena |
| 1971 | Margaret Braidwood | Saved | Mary |
| 1971 | Joan MacIntosh | Commune | Big Time Clementine |
| 1971 | Susan Batson | AC/DC | Sadie |
| 1972 | ‡ Elizabeth Wilson | Sticks and Bones | Harriet |
| 1972 | Jeanne Hepple | The Reliquary of Mr. and Mrs. Potterfield | Chloe Potterfield |
| 1972 | Marilyn Chris | Kaddish | Naomi Livergant Ginsberg |
| 1972 | Kathleen Widdoes | The Beggar's Opera | Polly Peachum |
| 1972 | Salome Bey | Love Me, Love My Children | Various Characters |
| 1972 | Marilyn Sokol | The Beggar's Opera | Lucy Lockit |
| 1973 | Alice Playten | National Lampoon Lemmings | Various Characters |
| 1973 | Jessica Tandy | Not I | The Mouth |
| 1973 | Mari Gorman | The Hot l Baltimore | Jackie |
| 1973 | Lola Pashalinski | Corn | Lola-Lola |
| 1973 | ‡ Roxie Roker | The River Niger | Mattie Williams |
| 1974 | Barbara Barrie | The Killdeer | Sparky |
| 1974 | Loretta Greene | The Sirens | Pepper |
| 1974 | Barbara Montgomery | My Sister, My Sister | Mama |
| 1974 | Elizabeth Sturges | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Angel |
| 1974 | Conchata Ferrell | The Sea Horse | Gertrude Blum |
| 1974 | Zypora Spaisman | Stempenyu | – |
| 1975 | Cara Duff-MacCormick | Craig's Wife | Harriet Craig |
| 1975 | ‡ Tovah Feldshuh | Yentl | Yentl |
| 1975 | Priscilla Smith | Fragments of a Greek Trilogy | Medea / Electra / Andromache |
| 1975 | Tanya Berezin | The Mound Builders | D. K. Eriksen |
| 1976 | Crystal Field | Day Old Bread | – |
| 1976 | Kate Manheim | Rhoda in Potatoland | Rhoda |
| 1976 | Pamela Payton-Wright | Jesse and the Bandit Queen | Belle Starr |
| 1976 | June Gable | The Comedy of Errors | Adriana |
| 1976 | Priscilla Smith | The Good Woman of Szechwan | Shen Te |
| 1976 | Joyce Aaron | Academics | – |
| 1976 | ‡ Priscilla Lopez | A Chorus Line | Diana Morales |
| 1977 | Marian Seldes | Isadora Duncan Sleeps with the Russian Navy | Isadora Duncan |
| 1977 | Jo Henderson | Ladyhouse Blues | Liz |
| 1977 | Lucinda Childs | Einstein on the Beach | Various Characters |
| 1977 | Anne De Salvo | Gemini | Lucille Grande |
| 1977 | Roberta Maxwell | Ashes | Anne |
| 1977 | Lola Pashalinski | Der Ring Gott Farblonjet | Brunnhilda |
| 1977 | Margaret Wright | A Manoir | A Woman in White |
| 1978 | Swoosie Kurtz | Uncommon Women and Others | Rita Altabel |
| 1978 | Kaiulani Lee | Safe House | – |
| 1978 | Alma Cuervo | Uncommon Women and Others | Holly Kaplan |
| 1978 | ‡ Nell Carter | Ain't Misbehavin | Nell |
| 1979 | Mary Alice | Julius Caesar & Nongogo | Portia / Queeny |
| 1979 | Elizabeth Wilson | Taken in Marriage | Aunt Helen |
| 1979 | ‡ Constance Cummings | Wings | Emily Stilson |

## 1980s

* ‡ – indicates the performance was also nominated for a Tony Award (any of Actress in a Play or Musical, Featured Actress in a Play or Musical) after transferring to Broadway
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1980 | Lindsay Crouse | Reunion & Dark Pony & The Sanctity of Marriage | Carol Mindler / Daughter / Wife |
| 1980 | Hattie Winston | Mother Courage and Her Children & The Michigan | Yvette Pottier / – |
| 1980 | Elizabeth Franz | Sister Mary Ignatius Explains & The Actor's Nightmare | Sister Mary Ignatius / Sarah Siddons |
| 1980 | Dianne Wiest | The Art of Dining | Elizabeth Barrow Colt |
| 1980 | Madeleine le Roux | la Justice | – |
| 1981 | Meryl Streep | Alice in Concert | Alice |
| 1981 | Michele Shay | Meetings | Jean |
| 1981 | ‡ Mary Beth Hurt | Crimes of the Heart | Meg MaGrath |
| 1981 | Mary McDonnell | Still Life | Cheryl |
| 1982 | Carole Shelley | Twelve Dreams | Dorothy Trowbridge |
| 1982 | Irene Worth | The Chalk Garden | Miss Madrigal |
| 1982 | Christine Estabrook | Pastorale | Rachel |
| 1982 | E. Katherine Kerr | Cloud Nine | Ellen / Mrs. Saunders |
| 1983 | Glenn Close | The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs | Albert Nobbs |
| 1983 | Christine Baranski | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena |
| 1983 | Ruth Maleczech | Hajj | The Woman |
| 1984 | Kathy Baker | Fool for Love | May |
| 1984 | Ruth Maleczech | Through the Leaves | Annette |
| 1984 | Pamela Reed | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1984 | Sheila Dabney | Sarita | Sarita |
| 1984 | Dianne Wiest | Serenading Louie & Other Places | Gabby / Deborah |
| 1985 | Laurie Metcalf | Balm in Gilead | Darlene |
| 1985 | Frances Foster | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1985 | Meredith Monk | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1986 | Norma Aleandro | About Love and Other Stories About Love | Various Characters |
| 1986 | Jill Eikenberry | Lemon Sky & Life Under Water | Ronnie / Jinkx |
| 1986 | Elizabeth Wilson | Anteroom | Fay Leland |
| 1986 | Kathryn Pogson | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Lemon |
| 1986 | Helen Stenborg | Talley & Son | Netta Talley |
| 1986 | Elisabeth Welch | Time to Start Living | Various Characters |
| 1986 | ‡ Swoosie Kurtz | The House of Blue Leaves | Bananas Shaughnessy |
| 1987 | Robin Bartlett | The Early Girl | Jean |
| 1987 | Dana Ivey | Driving Miss Daisy | Daisy Werthan |
| 1987 | Laura Hicks | On the Verge | Alexandra Cafuffle |
| 1987 | Gcina Mhlope | Born in the RSA | Sindiswa |
| 1987 | Clarice Taylor | Moms | Moms Mabley |
| 1988 | Kathy Bates | Frankie and Johnny | Frankie |
| 1988 | Yvonne Bryceland | The Road to Mecca | Miss Helen |
| 1988 | Tina Shepard | The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol | Lucie Cabrol |
| 1988 | Gordana Rashovich | A Shayna Maidel | Lusia Weiss Pechenik |
| 1988 | Lauren Tom | American Notes | Pauline |
| 1988 | Peggy Shaw | Dress Suits to Hire | Deeluxe |
| 1988 | Amy Irving | The Road to Mecca | Elsa Barlow |
| 1989 | Kathy Najimy | The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives | Various Characters |
| 1989 | Irene Worth | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1989 | Nancy Marchand | The Cocktail Hour | Ann |
| 1989 | Gloria Foster | The Forbidden City | Molly Hoffenburg |
| 1989 | Mo Gaffney | The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives | Various Characters |

## 1990s

* ‡ – indicates the performance was also nominated for a Tony Award (any of Actress in a Play or Musical, Featured Actress in a Play or Musical) after transferring to Broadway
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 1990 | Lillias White | Romance in Hard Times | Hennie |
| 1990 | Mary Shultz | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1990 | Isabell Monk | Lear | Gloucester |
| 1990 | Jean Stapleton | The Birthday Party & Mountain Language | Meg Bowles / Elderly Woman |
| 1990 | Ruth Maleczech | Lear | Lear |
| 1990 | Danitra Vance | Spunk | Various Characters |
| 1990 | Pamala Tyson | Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom | Veronica / Us-seer / Aretha / Mrs. Smith |
| 1990 | Karen Evans-Kandel | Lear | Edna |
| 1990 | Marcia Jean Kurtz | The Loman Family Picnic & When She Danced | Doris Loman / Miss Belzer |
| 1990 | Elżbieta Czyżewska | Crowbar | – |
| 1991 | Kathleen Widdoes | Tower of Evil | Margaret of Burgundy |
| 1991 | Joan Copeland | The American Plan | Eva Adler |
| 1991 | Jan Leslie Harding | Sincerity Forever | Furball #2 |
| 1991 | Anne Pitoniak | Pygmalion | Mrs. Higgins |
| 1991 | Jodie Markell | Machinal | The Young Woman |
| 1991 | ‡ Stockard Channing | Six Degrees of Separation | Ouisa Kittredge |
| 1991 | Angela Goethals | The Good Times are Killing Me | Edna Arkins |
| 1991 | Eileen Atkins | A Room of One's Own | Virginia Woolf |
| 1992 | Lynne Thigpen | Boesman and Lena | Lena |
| 1992 | Cherry Jones | The Baltimore Waltz | Anna |
| 1992 | S. Epatha Merkerson | I'm Not Stupid | Mother |
| 1992 | Deborah Hedwall | Sight Unseen | Patricia |
| 1992 | Laura Esterman | Marvin's Room | Bessie |
| 1992 | Ofelia Gonzales | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1992 | Randy Danson | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1992 | Anna Deavere Smith | Fires in the Mirror | Various Characters |
| 1993 | ‡ Jane Alexander | The Sisters Rosensweig | Sara Goode |
| 1993 | Míriam Colón | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1993 | Frances Conroy | The Last Yankee | Patricia Hamilton |
| 1993 | Hallie Foote | Nightingale & Spring Dance | Annie Gayle Long |
| 1993 | Ellen Parker | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1993 | Linda Stephens | Wings | Emily Stilson |
| 1994 | Myra Carter | Three Tall Women | A |
| 1994 | Judith Ivey | The Moonshot Tape | Diane |
| 1994 | Holly Hughes | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1994 | Alice Playten | First Lady Suite | Mamie Eisenhower / Lady Bird Johnson |
| 1994 | Carolee Carmello | Hello Again | The Young Wife |
| 1994 | ‡ Anna Deavere Smith | Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 | Various Characters |
| 1994 | Gail Grate | The America Play | Lucy |
| 1994 | Claudia Shear | Blown Sideways Through Life | Various Characters |
| 1995 | Mary Beth Peil | The Naked Truth & A Cheever Evening & Missing Persons | Nan Bemiss / Various Characters / Addie Pencke |
| 1995 | Linda Lavin | Hotline & Central Park West | Dorothy / Carol |
| 1995 | Kristine Nielsen | Dog Opera | Madeline Newell |
| 1995 | Eileen Atkins | Vita and Virginia | Virginia Woolf |
| 1995 | Barbara Eda-Young | Slavs! | Mrs. Domik / First Babushka |
| 1995 | Felicity Huffman | The Cryptogram | Donny |
| 1995 | Joanna Adler | The Boys in the Basement | – |
| 1995 | Camryn Manheim | Missing Persons | Gemma Calabrese |
| 1995 | Vanessa Redgrave | Vita and Virginia | Vita Sackville-West |
| 1996 | Mary Louise Wilson | Full Gallop | Diana Vreeland |
| 1996 | Uta Hagen | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1996 | Terri Klausner | Bed and Sofa | Ludmilla |
| 1996 | Adina Porter | Venus | Mrs. Sartje Baartman / The Venus Hottentot |
| 1996 | Lisa Gay Hamilton | Valley Song | Veronica Jonkers |
| 1996 | Virginia Rambal | The Elf Lady & Troy of America | Angela / - |
| 1996 | Kathleen Chalfant | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1996 | Marty Pottenger | City Water Tunnel #3 | Various Characters |
| 1997 | Karen Evans-Kandel | Peter and Wendy | The Narrator |
| 1997 | Mary-Louise Parker | How I Learned to Drive | Li'l Bit |
| 1997 | Tsai Chin | Golden Child | Eng Siu-Yong |
| 1997 | Jennifer Dundas | Good as New | Maggie |
| 1997 | Sharon Scruggs | The Trojan Women | Cassandra |
| 1997 | Ching Valdes-Aran | Flipzoids | Aying |
| 1997 | Joanne Camp | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1998 | Adriane Lenox | Dinah Was | Mama Jones |
| 1998 | ‡ Marie Mullen | The Beauty Queen of Leenane | Maureen Folan |
| 1998 | J. Smith-Cameron | As Bees In Honey Drown | Alexa Vere de Vere |
| 1998 | Lea DeLaria | On the Town | Hildy Esterhazy |
| 1998 | Yvette Freeman | Dinah Was | Dinah Washington |
| 1998 | Elizabeth Marvel | Misalliance & Thérèse Raquin | Lina Szczepanowska / Thérèse Raquin |
| 1998 | Mary Testa | On the Town | ‡ Madame Maude P. Dilly |
| 1998 | Mary Testa | & From Above | Roz |
| 1998 | Kate Valk | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1998 | Joan MacIntosh | More Stately Mansions | Deborah Harford |
| 1998 | Heather Gillespie | Mamba's Daughters | Hagar |
| 1998 | Karen Finley | The American Chestnut | Various Characters |
| 1999 | Kristine Nielsen | Betty's Summer Vacation | Mrs. Siezmagraff |
| 1999 | Swoosie Kurtz | The Mineola Twins | Myra / Myrna |
| 1999 | Kathleen Chalfant | W;t | Vivian Bearing |
| 1999 | Viola Davis | Everybody's Ruby | Ruby McCollum |
| 1999 | Mina Bern | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1999 | Peggy Shaw | Menopausal Gentleman | Various Characters |
| 1999 | Carmelita Tropicana | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 1999 | Lisa Kron | 2.5 Minute Ride | Lisa |

## 2000s

* ‡ – indicates the performance was also nominated for a Tony Award (any of Actress in a Play or Musical, Featured Actress in a Play or Musical) after transferring to Broadway
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 2000 | Eileen Heckart | The Waverly Gallery | Gladys Green |
| 2000 | Debra Monk | The Time of the Cuckoo | Leona Samish |
| 2000 | Cynthia Hopkins | Another Telepathic Thing | The Narrator |
| 2000 | Elizabeth Marvel | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche Dubois |
| 2000 | Lynne Thigpen | Jar the Floor | Lola |
| 2000 | Charlayne Woodard | In the Blood | Hester |
| 2000 | Lola Pashalinski | Gertrude and Alice | Gertrude Stein |
| 2000 | Deb Margolin | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2000 | Dominique Dibbell | Jet Lag | Lincoln |
| 2001 | ‡ Mary-Louise Parker | Proof | Catherine |
| 2001 | Pamela Isaacs | Newyorkers | Various Characters |
| 2001 | Jackie Hoffman | The Book of Liz | Various Characters |
| 2001 | Janie Dee | Comic Potential | Jacie Triplethree |
| 2001 | Stephanie Berry | The Shaneequa Chronicles | Shaneequa |
| 2001 | Marian Seldes | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2002 | ‡ Elaine Stritch | Elaine Stritch At Liberty | Elaine |
| 2002 | Martha Plimpton | Hobson's Choice | Maggie Hobson |
| 2002 | Yvette Ganier | Breath, Boom | Prix |
| 2002 | Linda Emond | Homebody/Kabul | The Homebody |
| 2002 | Juliana Francis | Maria del Bosco | Maria |
| 2003 | Rosemary Harris | All Over | The Wife |
| 2003 | ‡ Fiona Shaw | Medea | Medea |
| 2004 | ‡ Jayne Houdyshell | Well | Ann Kron |
| 2004 | Viola Davis | Intimate Apparel | Esther |
| 2004 | Lili Taylor | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Lemon |
| 2004 | Zilah Mendoza | Living Out | Ana Hernandez |
| 2004 | ‡ Tonya Pinkins | Caroline, or Change | Caroline Thibodeaux |
| 2004 | ‡ Sarah Jones | Bridge and Tunnel | Various Characters |
| 2004 | Lisa Emery | Iron | Fay |
| 2004 | Maude Mitchell | Maybou Mines DollHouse | Nora Helmer |
| 2005 | Elizabeth Marvel | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Gabler |
| 2005 | Rosemary Allen | Good Samaritans | Rosemary |
| 2005 | Mercedes Ruehl | Woman Before a Glass | Peggy Guggenheim |
| 2005 | ‡ Cherry Jones | Doubt | Sister Aloysius Beauvier |
| 2005 | Deirdre O'Connell | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2005 | Vivienne Benesch | Going to St. Ives | Cora Gage |
| 2005 | LaChanze | Dessa Rose | Dessa Rose |
| 2005 | L. Scott Caldwell | Going to St. Ives | Mary N'Kame |
| 2006 | Lois Smith | The Trip to Bountiful | Carrie Watts |
| 2006 | Sherie Rene Scott | Landscape of the Body | Rosalie |
| 2006 | ‡ Julie White | The Little Dog Laughed | Diane |
| 2006 | Dana Ivey | Mrs. Warren's Profession | Kitty Warren |
| 2006 | ‡ Christine Ebersole | Grey Gardens | Edith Bouvier Beale |
| 2006 | Meg MacCary | What Then | Diane |
| 2006 | S. Epatha Merkerson | Birdie Blue | Birdie Blue |
| 2006 | Marin Ireland | Cyclone | Erin |
| 2007 | Roslyn Ruff | Seven Guitars | Vera |
| 2007 | Nina Hellman | Trouble in Paradise | Lily |
| 2007 | Betsy Aidem | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2007 | Nancy Opel | My Deah | My Deah Hedgepeth / Lillie V |
| 2007 | Donna Lynne Champlin | The Dark at the Top of the Stairs | Cora Flood |
| 2007 | Nilaja Sun | No Child | Various Characters |
| 2008 | Veanne Cox | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2008 | Rebecca Wisocky | Amazons and Their Men | The Frau |
| 2008 | Lisa Gay Hamilton | Ohio State Murders | Suzanne Alexander |
| 2008 | Kate Mulgrew | Iphigenia 2.o | Clytemnestra |
| 2008 | Heidi Schreck | Drum of the Waves of Horikawa | Various Characters |
| 2009 | Birgit Huppuch | Telephone | Miss St |
| 2009 | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | Ruined | Salima |
| 2009 | Saidah Arrika Ekulona | Ruined | Mama Nadi |

## 2010s

* ‡ – indicates the performance was also nominated for a Tony Award (any of Actress in a Play or Musical, Featured Actress in a Play or Musical) after transferring to Broadway
| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 2010 | Laurie Metcalf | A Lie of the Mind | Meg |
| 2010 | Juliet Rylance | As You Like It | Rosalind |
| 2011 | Brenda Wehle | The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To... | Clio |
| 2011 | Charlayne Woodard | The Witch of Edmonton | Elizabeth Sawyer |
| 2011 | ‡ Laurie Metcalf | The Other Place | Juliana |
| 2012 | Cherise Booth | Milk Like Sugar | Talisha |
| 2012 | Mary Louise Wilson | 4000 Miles | Vera Joseph |
| 2012 | ‡ Linda Lavin | The Lyons | Rita Lyons |
| 2012 | Susan Parfour | Tribes | Sylvia |
| 2013 | Lois Smith | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2013 | Frances Sternhagen | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2013 | Eisa Davis | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2014 | Estelle Parsons | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2014 | Johanna Day | Appropriate | Antoinette 'Toni' Lafayette |
| 2014 | Marylouise Burke | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2014 | ‡ Sydney Lucas | Fun Home | Small Allison Bechdel |
| 2014 | Mia Katigbak | Awake and Sing! | Bessie Berger |
| 2015 | Brooke Bloom | You Got Older | Mae |
| 2015 | April Matthis | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2016 | Emily Donahoe | The Christians | Jenny |
| 2016 | Georgia Engel | John | Mertis Katherine Graven |
| 2016 | ‡ Jayne Houdyshell | The Humans | Deirdre Blake |
| 2016 | Tamara Tunie | Familiar | Marvelous |
| 2017 | Kecia Lewis | Marie and Rosetta | Sister Rosetta Tharpe |
| 2017 | Heather MacRae | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney |
| 2017 | Amy Ryan | Love, Love, Love | Sandra |
| 2018 | Carrie Coon | Mary Jane | Mary Jane |
| 2018 | Dame-Jasmine Hughes | Is God Is | Racine |
| 2018 | Denise Gough | People, Places & Things | Emma |
| 2018 | Jessica Hecht | Admissions | Sherri Rosen-Mason |
| 2019 | Cherise Booth | Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine | Undine Barnes Calles |
| 2019 | Heather Simms | Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine | Grandma / Caseworker / Inmate / Dr.Khdair |
| 2019 | Mia Barron | Hurricane Diane | Carol Fleischer |
| 2019 | Quincy Tyler Bernstine | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |

## 2020s

| Year | Winners | Play / Musical | Character |
| 2020 | April Mathis | Toni Stone | Toni Stone |
| 2020 | Deirdre O'Connell | Dana H. | Dana Higginbotham |
| 2020 | Elizabeth Rodriguez | Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven | Miss Rivera |
| 2020 | Emily Davis | Is This A Room | Reality Winner |
| 2020 | Liza Colón-Zayas | Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven | Sarge |
| 2020 | Vinie Burrows | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 | Stephanie Berry | On Sugarland | Evelyn |
| 2022 | Brittany Bradford | Wedding Band | Julia Augustine |
| 2022 | Kara Young | Twelfth Night | Viola |
| 2022 | Lizan Mitchell | On Sugarland | Tisha |
| 2022 | Andrea Patterson | Cullud Wattah | Ainee |
| 2023 | Maryann Plunkett | Deep Blue Sound | Ella |
| 2023 | Zuleyma Guevara | Sancocho | Caridad |
| 2023 | Marla Mindelle | Titanique | Celine Dion |
| 2023 | Shannon Tyo | The Comeuppance | Kristina |
| 2023 | Peggy Shaw | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2023 | Lois Weaver | for sustained excellence of performance | for sustained excellence of performance |
| 2023 | Nadine Malouf | Montag | Novella |
| 2023 | Ariana Venturi | Montag | Faith |

## Winners of more than one award

Shown in order of receiving latest award.

### 3 Wins

* Gloria Foster
* Marian Seldes
* Ruth Maleczech
* Swoosie Kurtz
* Elizabeth Wilson
* Laurie Metcalf
* Lola Pashalinski
* Elizabeth Marvel
* Rosemary Harris
* Frances Sternhagen

### 2 Wins

* April Mathis
* Cherise Booth
* Viola Davis
* Dianne Wiest
* Deirdre O'Connell
* Cherry Jones
* Kathleen Widdoes
* Nancy Marchand
* Peggy Shaw
* Alice Playten
* Irene Worth
* Charlayne Woodard
* Kristine Nielsen
* Joan MacIntosh
* S. Epatha Merkerson
* Linda Lavin
* Anna Deavere Smith
* Eileen Atkins
* Mary Louise Wilson
* Karen Evans-Kandel
* Nancy Wickwire
* Priscilla Smith
* Mari Gorman
* Anne Meacham
* Estelle Parsons
* Pamela Payton-Wright
* Lois Smith
* Roberta Maxwell
* Sada Thompson
* Dana Ivey
* Lynne Thigpen
* Kathleen Chalfant
* Mary-Louise Parker
* Julie Bovasso
* Lisa Gay Hamilton
* Jayne Houdyshell