# Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress

The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress, also known as the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress since 2009, is an annual award presented by the Evening Standard in recognition of achievement in British theatre.

## Winners and nominees
### 1950s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 1955 |
| 1955 | Siobhán McKenna | Saint Joan | Joan of Arc |
| 1956 |
| 1956 | Peggy Ashcroft | The Chalk Garden | Miss Madrigal |
| 1957 |
| 1957 | Brenda de Banzie | The Entertainer | Phoebe Rice |
| 1958 |
| 1958 | Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies | Long Day's Journey into Night | Mary Tyrone |
| 1959 |
| 1959 | Flora Robson | The Aspern Papers | Miss Tina |

### 1960s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 1960 |
| 1960 | Dorothy Tutin | Twelfth Night | Viola |
| 1961 |
| 1961 | Vanessa Redgrave | As You Like It | Rosalind |
| 1962 |
| 1962 | Maggie Smith | The Private Ear and The Public Eye | Doreen / Belinda |
| 1963 |
| 1963 | Joan Plowright | Saint Joan | Joan of Arc |
| 1964 |
| 1964 | Peggy Ashcroft | The Wars of the Roses | Margaret of Anjou |
| 1965 |
| 1965 | Eileen Atkins | The Killing of Sister George | Alice "Childie" McNaught |
| 1966 |
| 1966 | Irene Worth | A Song at Twilight | Hilde Latymer |
| 1967 |
| 1967 | Lila Kedrova | The Cherry Orchard | Madame Ranevskaya |
| 1968 |
| 1968 | Jill Bennett | Time Present | Pamela |
| 1969 |
| 1969 | Rosemary Harris | Plaza Suite | Karen Nash / Muriel Tate / Norma Hubley |

### 1970s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 1970 |
| 1970 | Maggie Smith | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Tesman |
| 1971 |
| 1971 | Peggy Ashcroft | The Loves of Viorne | Claire Lannes |
| 1972 |
| 1972 | Rachel Roberts | Alpha Beta | Nora Elliot |
| 1973 |
| 1973 | Janet Suzman | Hello and Goodbye | Hester |
| 1974 |
| 1974 | Claire Bloom | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 1975 |
| 1975 | Dorothy Tutin | A Month in the Country | Natalya Petrovna |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Janet Suzman | Three Sisters | Masha |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Alison Steadman | Abigail's Party | Beverly Moss |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Kate Nelligan | Plenty | Susan |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Vanessa Redgrave | The Lady from the Sea | Bolette |

### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Judi Dench | Juno and the Paycock | Juno Boyle |
| 1980 | Frances de la Tour | Duet for One | Stephanie |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Maggie Smith | Virginia | Virginia Woolf |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Judi Dench | The Importance of Being Earnest and A Kind of Alaska | Lady Bracknell / Deborah |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Geraldine McEwan | The Rivals | Mrs Malaprop |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Maggie Smith | The Way of the World | Millamant |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Vanessa Redgrave | The Seagull | Arkadina |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Julia McKenzie | Woman in Mind | Susan |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Judi Dench | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Lindsay Duncan | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Margaret |
| 1989 |
| 1989 | Felicity Kendal | Ivanov and Much Ado About Nothing | Anna / Beatrice |

### 1990s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 1990 |
| 1990 | Josette Simon | After the Fall | Maggie |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Vanessa Redgrave | When She Danced | Isadora Duncan |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Diana Rigg | Medea | Medea |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Fiona Shaw | Machinal | Young Woman |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Maggie Smith | Three Tall Women | A |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Geraldine McEwan | The Way of the World | Lady Wishfort |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | Diana Rigg | Mother Courage and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Mother Courage / Martha |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | Eileen Atkins | A Delicate Balance | Agnes |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | Sinéad Cusack | Our Lady of Sligo | Mai O'Hara |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | Janie Dee | Comic Potential | Jacie Triplethree |

### 2000s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | Paola Dionisotti | Further than the Furthest Thing | Mill Lavarello |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Fiona Shaw | Medea | Medea |
| 2001 | Lindsay Duncan | Mouth To Mouth and Private Lives | Laura / Amanda Prynne |
| 2001 | Penelope Wilton | The Little Foxes | Regina |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | Clare Higgins | Vincent In Brixton | Ursula Loyer |
| 2002 | Helen McCrory | Uncle Vanya | Yelena |
| 2002 | Gwyneth Paltrow | Proof | Catherine |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Sandy McDade | Iron | Fay |
| 2003 | Eileen Atkins | Honour | Honor |
| 2003 | Anne Mitchell | Through the Leaves | Martha |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | Victoria Hamilton | Suddenly Last Summer | Catharine |
| 2004 | Pam Ferris | Notes on Falling Leaves | Woman |
| 2004 | Kelly Reilly | After Miss Julie | Miss Julie |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | Harriet Walter | Mary Stuart | Elizabeth I |
| 2005 | Eve Best | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Tesman |
| 2005 | Clare Higgins | Death Of A Salesman | Linda Loman |
| 2005 | Kristin Scott Thomas | As You Desire Me | Elma |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | Kathleen Turner | Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 2006 | Sinéad Cusack | Rock ‘n’ Roll | Eleanor / Esme |
| 2006 | Frances O'Connor | Tom & Viv | Vivienne Haigh-Wood |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | Anne-Marie Duff | Saint Joan | Joan of Arc |
| 2007 | Billie Piper | Treats | Ann |
| 2007 | Portia | The Member Of The Wedding | Berenice Sadie Brown |
| 2007 | Penelope Wilton | John Gabriel Borkman | Ella Rentheim |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | Margaret Tyzack | The Chalk Garden | Mrs St Maugham |
| 2008 | Penelope Wilton | The Chalk Garden | Miss Madrigal |
| 2008 | Lesley Sharp | Harper Regan | Harper Regan |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Rachel Weisz | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 2009 | Deanna Dunagan | August: Osage County | Violet Weston |
| 2009 | Penny Downie | Helen | Helen |
| 2009 | Juliet Stevenson | Duet for One | Stephanie Abrahams |

### 2010s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | Nancy Carroll | After The Dance | Joan |
| 2010 | Elena Roger | Passion | Fosca |
| 2010 | Sheridan Smith | Legally Blonde | Elle Woods |
| 2010 | Sophie Thompson | Clybourne Park | Bev |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | Sheridan Smith | Flare Path | Doris, Countess Skriczevinsky |
| 2011 | Samantha Spiro | Chicken Soup with Barley | Sarah |
| 2011 | Kristin Scott Thomas | Betrayal | Emma |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Hattie Morahan | A Doll’s House | Nora Helmer |
| 2012 | Eileen Atkins | All That Fall | Mrs. Rooney |
| 2012 | Cate Blanchett | Big and Small | Lotte Kotte |
| 2012 | Laurie Metcalf | Long Days Journey Into Night | Mary Tyrone |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Helen Mirren | The Audience | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2013 | Linda Bassett | Roots | Beatie Bryant |
| 2013 | Lesley Manville | Ghosts | Mrs. Helene Alving |
| 2013 | Billie Piper | The Effect | Connie |
| 2013 | Kristin Scott Thomas | Old Times | Kate / Anna |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Gillian Anderson | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 2014 | Helen McCrory | Medea | Medea |
| 2014 | Tanya Moodie | Intimate Apparel | Esther |
| 2014 | Billie Piper | Great Britain | Paige Britain |
| 2014 | Kristin Scott Thomas | Electra | Electra |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | Nicole Kidman | Photograph 51 | Rosalind Franklin |
| 2015 | Denise Gough | People, Places and Things | Emma |
| 2015 | Gugu Mbatha-Raw | Nell Gwynn | Nell Gwyn |
| 2015 | Lia Williams | Oresteia | Clytemnestra |
| 2016 |
| 2016 | Billie Piper | Yerma | Yerma |
| 2016 | Noma Dumezweni | Linda | Linda Wilde |
| 2016 | Helen McCrory | The Deep Blue Sea | Hester Collyer |
| 2016 | Sophie Melville | Iphigenia In Splott | Effie |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | Glenda Jackson | King Lear | King Lear |
| 2017 | Laura Donnelly | The Ferryman | Caitlin Carney |
| 2017 | Victoria Hamilton | Albion | Audrey |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Sophie Okonedo | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra |
| 2018 | Laura Linney | My Name Is Lucy Barton | Lucy Barton |
| 2018 | Carey Mulligan | Girls and Boys | N/A |
| 2018 | Cecilia Noble | Nine Night | Aunt Maggie |
| 2018 | Lia Williams | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jean Brodie |
| 2019 |
| 2019 | Maggie Smith | A German Life | Brunhilde Pomsel |
| 2019 | Hayley Atwell | Rosmersholm | Rebecca West |
| 2019 | Cecilia Noble | Downstate and Faith, Hope and Charity | Ivy / Hazel |
| 2019 | Juliet Stevenson | The Doctor | The Doctor |
| 2019 | Anjana Vasan | A Doll’s House | Nora Helmer |

### 2020s

| Year | Actor | Work | Character |
| 2022 |
| 2022 | Jodie Comer | Prima Facie | Tessa Ensler |
| 2022 | Samira Wiley | Blues for an Alabama Sky | Angel |
| 2022 | Indira Varma | The Seagull | Irina Arkadina |
| 2022 | Ronke Adekoluejo | Blues for an Alabama Sky | Delia |
| 2022 | Sheila Atim | Constellations | Marianne |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | Patsy Ferran | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 2023 | Anjana Vasan | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski |
| 2023 | Sophie Okonedo | Medea | Medea |
| 2023 | Rachael Stirling | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne |

## Multiple awards and nominations
### Awards

Six awards
* Maggie Smith
Four awards
* Vanessa Redgrave
Three awards
* Peggy Ashcroft
* Judi Dench
Two awards
* Eileen Atkins
* Geraldine McEwan
* Diana Rigg
* Fiona Shaw
* Janet Suzman
* Dorothy Tutin

### Nominations

Four nominations
* Billie Piper
* Kristin Scott Thomas
Three nominations
* Helen McCrory
* Penelope Wilton
Two nominations
* Sinéad Cusack
* Victoria Hamilton
* Clare Higgins
* Cecilia Noble
* Sophie Okonedo
* Sheridan Smith
* Juliet Stevenson
* Anjana Vasan
* Lia Williams