# Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play

The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broadway play. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946.
Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year."
The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actress—Play. It was first presented to Ingrid Bergman and Helen Hayes at the 1st Tony Awards for their portrayals of Mary Grey / Joan of Arc and Addie Bemis in Joan of Lorraine and Happy Birthday, respectively. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers".
There have been two ties and one three-way tie in this category. Julie Harris holds the record for having the most wins and nominations in this category, with a total of five wins from nine nominations. Medea in the play of the same name is the character to take the award the most times, winning three times.

## Winners and nominees
### 1940s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1947 (1st) |
| 1947 (1st) | Ingrid Bergman | Joan of Lorraine | Mary Grey / Joan of Arc |
| 1947 (1st) | Helen Hayes | Happy Birthday | Addie Bemis |
| 1948 (2nd) |
| 1948 (2nd) | Judith Anderson | Medea | Medea |
| 1948 (2nd) | Katharine Cornell | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra |
| 1948 (2nd) | Jessica Tandy | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 1949 (3rd) | | | |
| 1949 (3rd) | Martita Hunt | The Madwoman of Chaillot | Countess Aurelia |

### 1950s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1950 (4th) |
| 1950 (4th) | Shirley Booth | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney |
| 1951 (5th) | | | |
| 1951 (5th) | Uta Hagen | The Country Girl | Georgie Elgin |
| 1952 (6th) | | | |
| 1952 (6th) | Julie Harris | I Am a Camera | Sally Bowles |
| 1953 (7th) | | | |
| 1953 (7th) | Shirley Booth | The Time of the Cuckoo | Leona Samish |
| 1954 (8th) | | | |
| 1954 (8th) | Audrey Hepburn | Ondine | Ondine |
| 1955 (9th) | | | |
| 1955 (9th) | Nancy Kelly | The Bad Seed | Christine Penmark |
| 1956 (10th) | | | |
| 1956 (10th) | Julie Harris | The Lark | Joan of Arc |
| 1956 (10th) | Barbara Bel Geddes | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie Pollitt |
| 1956 (10th) | Gladys Cooper | The Chalk Garden | Mrs. St. Maugham |
| 1956 (10th) | Ruth Gordon | The Matchmaker | Dolly Gallagher Levi |
| 1956 (10th) | Siobhán McKenna | The Chalk Garden | Miss Madrigal |
| 1956 (10th) | Susan Strasberg | The Diary of Anne Frank | Anne Frank |
| 1957 (11th) | | | |
| 1957 (11th) | Margaret Leighton | Separate Tables | Ann Shankland / Sibyl Railton-Bell |
| 1957 (11th) | Florence Eldridge | Long Day's Journey into Night | Mary Cavan Tyrone |
| 1957 (11th) | Rosalind Russell | Auntie Mame | Mame Dennis |
| 1957 (11th) | Sybil Thorndike | The Potting Shed | Mrs. Callifer |
| 1958 (12th) | | | |
| 1958 (12th) | Helen Hayes | Time Remembered | The Duchess of Pont-Au-Bronc |
| 1958 (12th) | Wendy Hiller | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan |
| 1958 (12th) | Siobhán McKenna | The Rope Dancers | Margaret Hyland |
| 1958 (12th) | Eugenie Leontovich | The Cave Dwellers | The Queen |
| 1958 (12th) | Mary Ure | Look Back in Anger | Alison Porter |
| 1958 (12th) | Jo Van Fleet | Look Homeward, Angel | Eliza Gant |
| 1959 (13th) | | | |
| 1959 (13th) | Gertrude Berg | A Majority of One | Bertha Jacoby |
| 1959 (13th) | Claudette Colbert | The Marriage-Go-Round | Content Lowell |
| 1959 (13th) | Lynn Fontanne | The Visit | Claire Zachanassian |
| 1959 (13th) | Kim Stanley | A Touch of the Poet | Sara Melody |
| 1959 (13th) | Maureen Stapleton | The Cold Wind And The Warm | Aunt Ida |

### 1960s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1960 (14th) |
| 1960 (14th) | Anne Bancroft | The Miracle Worker | Annie Sullivan |
| 1960 (14th) | Margaret Leighton | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice |
| 1960 (14th) | Claudia McNeil | A Raisin in the Sun | Lena Younger |
| 1960 (14th) | Geraldine Page | Sweet Bird of Youth | Alexandra Del Lago |
| 1960 (14th) | Maureen Stapleton | Toys in the Attic | Carrie Berniers |
| 1960 (14th) | Irene Worth | Toys in the Attic | Albertine Prine |
| 1961 (15th) | | | |
| 1961 (15th) | Joan Plowright | A Taste of Honey | Josephine |
| 1961 (15th) | Tallulah Bankhead | Midgie Purvis | Midgie Purvis |
| 1961 (15th) | Barbara Baxley | Period of Adjustment | Isabel Haverstick |
| 1961 (15th) | Barbara Bel Geddes | Mary, Mary | Mary McKellaway |
| 1962 (16th) | | | |
| 1962 (16th) | Margaret Leighton | The Night of the Iguana | Hannah Jelkes |
| 1962 (16th) | Gladys Cooper | A Passage to India | Mrs. Moore |
| 1962 (16th) | Colleen Dewhurst | Great Day in the Morning | Phoebe Flaherty |
| 1962 (16th) | Kim Stanley | A Far Country | Elizabeth von Ritter |
| 1963 (17th) | | | |
| 1963 (17th) | Uta Hagen | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 1963 (17th) | Hermione Baddeley | The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore | Flora Goforth |
| 1963 (17th) | Margaret Leighton | Tchin-Tchin | Pamela Pew-Pickett |
| 1963 (17th) | Claudia McNeil | Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright | Mama Morris |
| 1964 (18th) | | | |
| 1964 (18th) | Sandy Dennis | Any Wednesday | Ellen Gordon |
| 1964 (18th) | Elizabeth Ashley | Barefoot in the Park | Corie Bratter |
| 1964 (18th) | Colleen Dewhurst | The Ballad of the Sad Café | Amelia Evans |
| 1964 (18th) | Julie Harris | Marathon '33 | June Havoc |
| 1965 (19th) | | | |
| 1965 (19th) | Irene Worth | Tiny Alice | Miss Alice |
| 1965 (19th) | Marjorie Rhodes | All in Good Time | Lucy Fitton |
| 1965 (19th) | Beah Richards | The Amen Corner | Sister Margaret Alexander |
| 1965 (19th) | Diana Sands | The Owl and the Pussycat | Doris |
| 1966 (20th) | | | |
| 1966 (20th) | Rosemary Harris | The Lion in Winter | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| 1966 (20th) | Sheila Hancock | Entertaining Mr Sloane | Kath |
| 1966 (20th) | Kate Reid | Slapstick Tragedy | Celeste/Molly |
| 1966 (20th) | Lee Remick | Wait Until Dark | Susy Hendrix |
| 1967 (21st) | | | |
| 1967 (21st) | Beryl Reid | The Killing of Sister George | Sister George / June Buckridge |
| 1967 (21st) | Eileen Atkins | The Killing of Sister George | Childie / Alice McNaught |
| 1967 (21st) | Vivien Merchant | The Homecoming | Ruth |
| 1967 (21st) | Rosemary Murphy | A Delicate Balance | Claire |
| 1968 (22nd) | | | |
| 1968 (22nd) | Zoe Caldwell | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jean Brodie |
| 1968 (22nd) | Colleen Dewhurst | More Stately Mansions | Sara (Melody) Harford |
| 1968 (22nd) | Maureen Stapleton | Plaza Suite | Karen Nash / Murial Tate / Norma Hubley |
| 1968 (22nd) | Dorothy Tutin | Portrait of a Queen | Queen Victoria |
| 1969 (23rd) | | | |
| 1969 (23rd) | Julie Harris | Forty Carats | Ann Stanley |
| 1969 (23rd) | Estelle Parsons | The Seven Descents of Myrtle | Myrtle |
| 1969 (23rd) | Charlotte Rae | Morning, Noon and Night | Gertrude / Beryl / Filigree Bones |
| 1969 (23rd) | Brenda Vaccaro | The Goodbye People | Nancy (Silverman) Scott |

### 1970s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1970 (24th) |
| 1970 (24th) | Tammy Grimes | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne |
| 1970 (24th) | Geraldine Brooks | Brightower | Sara Brightower |
| 1970 (24th) | Helen Hayes | Harvey | Veta Louise Simmons |
| 1971 (25th) | | | |
| 1971 (25th) | Maureen Stapleton | The Gingerbread Lady | Evy Meara |
| 1971 (25th) | Estelle Parsons | And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little | Catherine Reardon |
| 1971 (25th) | Diana Rigg | Abelard and Heloise | Héloïse |
| 1971 (25th) | Marian Seldes | Father's Day | Marian |
| 1972 (26th) | | | |
| 1972 (26th) | Sada Thompson | Twigs | Ma / Dorothy / Celia / Emily |
| 1972 (26th) | Eileen Atkins | Vivat! Vivat Regina! | Elizabeth I |
| 1972 (26th) | Colleen Dewhurst | All Over | The Mistress |
| 1972 (26th) | Rosemary Harris | Old Times | Anna |
| 1973 (27th) | | | |
| 1973 (27th) | Julie Harris | The Last of Mrs. Lincoln | Mary Todd Lincoln |
| 1973 (27th) | Jane Alexander | 6 Rms Riv Vu | Annie Miller |
| 1973 (27th) | Colleen Dewhurst | Mourning Becomes Electra | Christine Mannon |
| 1973 (27th) | Kathleen Widdoes | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice |
| 1974 (28th) | | | |
| 1974 (28th) | Colleen Dewhurst | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan |
| 1974 (28th) | Jane Alexander | Find Your Way Home | Jacqueline Harrison |
| 1974 (28th) | Julie Harris | The Au Pair Man | Elizabeth Rogers |
| 1974 (28th) | Madeline Kahn | In the Boom Boom Room | Chrissy |
| 1974 (28th) | Rachel Roberts | The Visit / Chemin de Fer | Claire Zachanassian / Francine |
| 1975 (29th) | Rachel Roberts | | |
| 1975 (29th) | Ellen Burstyn | Same Time, Next Year | Doris |
| 1975 (29th) | Elizabeth Ashley | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie Pollitt |
| 1975 (29th) | Diana Rigg | The Misanthrope | Célimène |
| 1975 (29th) | Maggie Smith | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne |
| 1975 (29th) | Liv Ullmann | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer |
| 1976 (30th) | | | |
| 1976 (30th) | Irene Worth | Sweet Bird of Youth | Alexandra Del Lago |
| 1976 (30th) | Tovah Feldshuh | Yentl | Yentl |
| 1976 (30th) | Rosemary Harris | The Royal Family | Julie Cavendish |
| 1976 (30th) | Lynn Redgrave | Mrs. Warren's Profession | Vivie Warren |
| 1977 (31st) | | | |
| 1977 (31st) | Julie Harris | The Belle of Amherst | Emily Dickinson |
| 1977 (31st) | Colleen Dewhurst | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 1977 (31st) | Liv Ullmann | Anna Christie | Anna Christopherson |
| 1977 (31st) | Irene Worth | The Cherry Orchard | Ranevskaya |
| 1978 (32nd) | | | |
| 1978 (32nd) | Jessica Tandy | The Gin Game | Fonsia Dorsey |
| 1978 (32nd) | Anne Bancroft | Golda | Golda Meir |
| 1978 (32nd) | Anita Gillette | Chapter Two | Jennie Malone |
| 1978 (32nd) | Estelle Parsons | Miss Margarida's Way | Miss Margarida |
| 1979 (33rd) | | | |
| 1979 (33rd) | Constance Cummings | Wings | Emily Stilson |
| 1979 (33rd) | Carole Shelley | The Elephant Man | Madge Kendal |
| 1979 (33rd) | Jane Alexander | First Monday in October | Ruth Loomis |
| 1979 (33rd) | Frances Sternhagen | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer |

### 1980s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1980 (34th) |
| 1980 (34th) | Phyllis Frelich | Children of a Lesser God | Sarah Norman |
| 1980 (34th) | Blythe Danner | Betrayal | Emma |
| 1980 (34th) | Maggie Smith | Night and Day | Ruth Carson |
| 1980 (34th) | Anne Twomey | Nuts | Claudia Draper |
| 1981 (35th) | | | |
| 1981 (35th) | Jane Lapotaire | Piaf | Édith Piaf |
| 1981 (35th) | Glenda Jackson | Rose | Rose |
| 1981 (35th) | Eva Le Gallienne | To Grandmother's House We Go | Grandie |
| 1981 (35th) | Elizabeth Taylor | The Little Foxes | Regina Giddens |
| 1982 (36th) | | | |
| 1982 (36th) | Zoe Caldwell | Medea | Medea |
| 1982 (36th) | Katharine Hepburn | The West Side Waltz | Margaret Mary Elderdice |
| 1982 (36th) | Geraldine Page | Agnes of God | Mother Miriam Ruth |
| 1982 (36th) | Amanda Plummer | A Taste of Honey | Josephine |
| 1983 (37th) | | | |
| 1983 (37th) | Jessica Tandy | Foxfire | Annie Nations |
| 1983 (37th) | Kathy Bates | 'night, Mother | Jessie Cates |
| 1983 (37th) | Kate Nelligan | Plenty | Susan Traherne |
| 1983 (37th) | Anne Pitoniak | 'night, Mother | Thelma Cates |
| 1984 (38th) | | | |
| 1984 (38th) | Glenn Close | The Real Thing | Annie |
| 1984 (38th) | Rosemary Harris | Heartbreak House | Hesione Hushabye |
| 1984 (38th) | Linda Hunt | End of the World | Audrey Wood |
| 1984 (38th) | Kate Nelligan | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan |
| 1985 (39th) | | | |
| 1985 (39th) | Stockard Channing | A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Sheila |
| 1985 (39th) | Sinéad Cusack | Much Ado About Nothing | Beatrice |
| 1985 (39th) | Rosemary Harris | Pack of Lies | Barbara Jackson |
| 1985 (39th) | Glenda Jackson | Strange Interlude | Nina Leeds |
| 1986 (40th) | | | |
| 1986 (40th) | Lily Tomlin | The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe | Various Characters |
| 1986 (40th) | Rosemary Harris | Hay Fever | Judith Bliss |
| 1986 (40th) | Mary Beth Hurt | Benefactors | Sheila |
| 1986 (40th) | Jessica Tandy | The Petition | Elizabeth Milne |
| 1987 (41st) | | | |
| 1987 (41st) | Linda Lavin | Broadway Bound | Kate Jerome |
| 1987 (41st) | Lindsay Duncan | Dangerous Liaisons | Marquise de Merteuil |
| 1987 (41st) | Geraldine Page | Blithe Spirit | Madame Arcati |
| 1987 (41st) | Amanda Plummer | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle |
| 1988 (42nd) | | | |
| 1988 (42nd) | Joan Allen | Burn This | Anna Mann |
| 1988 (42nd) | Blythe Danner | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 1988 (42nd) | Glenda Jackson | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth |
| 1988 (42nd) | Frances McDormand | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski |
| 1989 (43rd) | | | |
| 1989 (43rd) | Pauline Collins | Shirley Valentine | Shirley Valentine |
| 1989 (43rd) | Joan Allen | The Heidi Chronicles | Heidi Holland |
| 1989 (43rd) | Madeline Kahn | Born Yesterday | Emma 'Billie' Dawn |
| 1989 (43rd) | Kate Nelligan | Spoils of War | Elise |

### 1990s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 1990 (44th) |
| 1990 (44th) | Maggie Smith | Lettice and Lovage | Lettice Douffet |
| 1990 (44th) | Geraldine James | The Merchant of Venice | Portia |
| 1990 (44th) | Mary-Louise Parker | Prelude to a Kiss | Rita Boyle |
| 1990 (44th) | Kathleen Turner | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie Pollitt |
| 1991 (45th) | | | |
| 1991 (45th) | Mercedes Ruehl | Lost in Yonkers | Bella Kurnitz |
| 1991 (45th) | Stockard Channing | Six Degrees of Separation | Ouisa Kittredge |
| 1991 (45th) | Julie Harris | Lucifer's Child | Karen Blixen |
| 1991 (45th) | Cherry Jones | Our Country's Good | Liz Morden / Reverend Johnson |
| 1992 (46th) | | | |
| 1992 (46th) | Glenn Close | Death and the Maiden | Paulina Salas Escobar |
| 1992 (46th) | Jane Alexander | The Visit | Claire Zachanassian |
| 1992 (46th) | Stockard Channing | Four Baboons Adoring the Sun | Penny McKenzie |
| 1992 (46th) | Judith Ivey | Park Your Car in Harvard Yard | Kathleen Hogan |
| 1993 (47th) | | | |
| 1993 (47th) | Madeline Kahn | The Sisters Rosensweig | Gorgeous Teitelbaum |
| 1993 (47th) | Jane Alexander | The Sisters Rosensweig | Sara Goode |
| 1993 (47th) | Lynn Redgrave | Shakespeare for My Father | Lynn Redgrave |
| 1993 (47th) | Natasha Richardson | Anna Christie | Anna Christopherson |
| 1994 (48th) | | | |
| 1994 (48th) | Diana Rigg | Medea | Medea |
| 1994 (48th) | Anna Deavere Smith | Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 | Various Characters |
| 1994 (48th) | Nancy Marchand | Black Comedy | Sophie |
| 1994 (48th) | Nancy Marchand | The White Liars | Mrs. Furnival |
| 1994 (48th) | Joan Rivers | Sally Marr...and her escorts | Sally Marr |
| 1995 (49th) | | | |
| 1995 (49th) | Cherry Jones | The Heiress | Catherine Sloper |
| 1995 (49th) | Mary Alice | Having Our Say | Bessie Delany |
| 1995 (49th) | Eileen Atkins | Indiscretions | Léonie |
| 1995 (49th) | Helen Mirren | A Month in the Country | Natalia Petrovna |
| 1996 (50th) | | | |
| 1996 (50th) | Zoe Caldwell | Master Class | Maria Callas |
| 1996 (50th) | Carol Burnett | Moon Over Buffalo | Charlotte Hay |
| 1996 (50th) | Rosemary Harris | A Delicate Balance | Agnes |
| 1996 (50th) | Elaine Stritch | A Delicate Balance | Claire |
| 1997 (51st) | | | |
| 1997 (51st) | Janet McTeer | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer |
| 1997 (51st) | Julie Harris | The Gin Game | Fonsia Dorsey |
| 1997 (51st) | Shirley Knight | The Young Man From Atlanta | Lily Dale Kidder |
| 1997 (51st) | Lia Williams | Skylight | Kyra Hollis |
| 1998 (52nd) | | | |
| 1998 (52nd) | Marie Mullen | The Beauty Queen of Leenane | Maureen Folan |
| 1998 (52nd) | Jane Alexander | Honour | Honor |
| 1998 (52nd) | Allison Janney | A View from the Bridge | Beatrice Carbone |
| 1998 (52nd) | Geraldine McEwan | The Chairs | Old Woman |
| 1999 (53rd) | | | |
| 1999 (53rd) | Judi Dench | Amy's View | Esme Allen |
| 1999 (53rd) | Stockard Channing | The Lion in Winter | Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| 1999 (53rd) | Marian Seldes | Ring Round the Moon | Madame Desmermortes |
| 1999 (53rd) | Zoë Wanamaker | Electra | Electra |

### 2000s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 2000 (54th) |
| 2000 (54th) | Jennifer Ehle | The Real Thing | Annie |
| 2000 (54th) | Jayne Atkinson | The Rainmaker | Lizzie Curry |
| 2000 (54th) | Rosemary Harris | Waiting in the Wings | May Davenport |
| 2000 (54th) | Cherry Jones | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan |
| 2000 (54th) | Claudia Shear | Dirty Blonde | Jo / Mae West |
| 2001 (55th) | | | |
| 2001 (55th) | Mary-Louise Parker | Proof | Catherine Llewellyn |
| 2001 (55th) | Juliette Binoche | Betrayal | Emma |
| 2001 (55th) | Linda Lavin | The Tale of the Allergist's Wife | Marjorie Taub |
| 2001 (55th) | Jean Smart | The Man Who Came to Dinner | Lorraine Sheldon |
| 2001 (55th) | Leslie Uggams | King Hedley II | Ruby |
| 2002 (56th) | | | |
| 2002 (56th) | Lindsay Duncan | Private Lives | Amanda Prynne |
| 2002 (56th) | Kate Burton | Hedda Gabler | Hedda Gabler |
| 2002 (56th) | Laura Linney | The Crucible | Elizabeth Proctor |
| 2002 (56th) | Helen Mirren | The Dance of Death | Alice |
| 2002 (56th) | Mercedes Ruehl | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Stevie Gray |
| 2003 (57th) | | | |
| 2003 (57th) | Vanessa Redgrave | Long Day's Journey into Night | Mary Tyrone |
| 2003 (57th) | Jayne Atkinson | Enchanted April | Lotty Wilton |
| 2003 (57th) | Victoria Hamilton | A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | Sheila |
| 2003 (57th) | Clare Higgins | Vincent in Brixton | Ursula Loyler |
| 2003 (57th) | Fiona Shaw | Medea | Medea |
| 2004 (58th) | | | |
| 2004 (58th) | Phylicia Rashad | A Raisin in the Sun | Lena Younger |
| 2004 (58th) | Eileen Atkins | The Retreat from Moscow | Alice |
| 2004 (58th) | Tovah Feldshuh | Golda's Balcony | Golda Meir |
| 2004 (58th) | Anne Heche | Twentieth Century | Lily Garland / Mildred Plotka |
| 2004 (58th) | Swoosie Kurtz | Frozen | Nancy Shirley |
| 2005 (59th) | | | |
| 2005 (59th) | Cherry Jones | Doubt | Sister Aloysius Beauvier |
| 2005 (59th) | Laura Linney | Sight Unseen | Patricia |
| 2005 (59th) | Mary-Louise Parker | Reckless | Rachel |
| 2005 (59th) | Phylicia Rashad | Gem of the Ocean | Aunt Ester |
| 2005 (59th) | Kathleen Turner | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 2006 (60th) | | | |
| 2006 (60th) | Cynthia Nixon | Rabbit Hole | Becca Corbett |
| 2006 (60th) | Kate Burton | The Constant Wife | Constance Culver Middleton |
| 2006 (60th) | Judy Kaye | Souvenir | Florence Foster Jenkins |
| 2006 (60th) | Lisa Kron | Well | Lisa Kron |
| 2006 (60th) | Lynn Redgrave | The Constant Wife | Mrs. Culver |
| 2007 (61st) | | | |
| 2007 (61st) | Julie White | The Little Dog Laughed | Diane |
| 2007 (61st) | Eve Best | A Moon for the Misbegotten | Josie Hogan |
| 2007 (61st) | Swoosie Kurtz | Heartbreak House | Hesione Hushabye |
| 2007 (61st) | Angela Lansbury | Deuce | Leona Mullen |
| 2007 (61st) | Vanessa Redgrave | The Year of Magical Thinking | Joan Didion |
| 2008 (62nd) | | | |
| 2008 (62nd) | Deanna Dunagan | August: Osage County | Violet Weston |
| 2008 (62nd) | Eve Best | The Homecoming | Ruth |
| 2008 (62nd) | Kate Fleetwood | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth |
| 2008 (62nd) | S. Epatha Merkerson | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney |
| 2008 (62nd) | Amy Morton | August: Osage County | Barbara Weston-Fordham |
| 2009 (63rd) | | | |
| 2009 (63rd) | Marcia Gay Harden | God of Carnage | Veronica |
| 2009 (63rd) | Hope Davis | God of Carnage | Annette |
| 2009 (63rd) | Jane Fonda | 33 Variations | Katherine Brandt |
| 2009 (63rd) | Janet McTeer | Mary Stuart | Mary Stuart |
| 2009 (63rd) | Harriet Walter | Mary Stuart | Elizabeth I |

### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) |
| 2010 (64th) |
| 2010 (64th) | Viola Davis | Fences | Rose Maxson |
| 2010 (64th) | Valerie Harper | Looped | Tallulah Bankhead |
| 2010 (64th) | Linda Lavin | Collected Stories | Ruth Steiner |
| 2010 (64th) | Laura Linney | Time Stands Still | Sarah Goodwin |
| 2010 (64th) | Jan Maxwell | The Royal Family | Julie Cavendish |
| 2011 (65th) | | | |
| 2011 (65th) | Frances McDormand | Good People | Margie Walsh |
| 2011 (65th) | Nina Arianda | Born Yesterday | Emma 'Billie' Dawn |
| 2011 (65th) | Lily Rabe | The Merchant of Venice | Portia |
| 2011 (65th) | Vanessa Redgrave | Driving Miss Daisy | Daisy Werthan |
| 2011 (65th) | Hannah Yelland | Brief Encounter | Laura Jesson |
| 2012 (66th) | | | |
| 2012 (66th) | Nina Arianda | Venus in Fur | Vanda |
| 2012 (66th) | Tracie Bennett | End of the Rainbow | Judy Garland |
| 2012 (66th) | Stockard Channing | Other Desert Cities | Polly Wyeth |
| 2012 (66th) | Linda Lavin | The Lyons | Rita Lyons |
| 2012 (66th) | Cynthia Nixon | Wit | Vivian Bearing |
| 2013 (67th) | | | |
| 2013 (67th) | Cicely Tyson | The Trip to Bountiful | Carrie Watts |
| 2013 (67th) | Laurie Metcalf | The Other Place | Juliana Smithton |
| 2013 (67th) | Amy Morton | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 2013 (67th) | Kristine Nielsen | Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | Sonia |
| 2013 (67th) | Holland Taylor | Ann | Ann Richards |
| 2014 (68th) | | | |
| 2014 (68th) | Audra McDonald | Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill | Billie Holiday |
| 2014 (68th) | Tyne Daly | Mothers and Sons | Katharine Gerard |
| 2014 (68th) | Cherry Jones | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield |
| 2014 (68th) | Estelle Parsons | The Velocity of Autumn | Alexandra |
| 2014 (68th) | LaTanya Richardson | A Raisin in the Sun | Lena Younger |
| 2015 (69th) | | | |
| 2015 (69th) | Helen Mirren | The Audience | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2015 (69th) | Geneva Carr | Hand To God | Margery |
| 2015 (69th) | Elisabeth Moss | The Heidi Chronicles | Heidi Holland |
| 2015 (69th) | Carey Mulligan | Skylight | Kyra Hollis |
| 2015 (69th) | Ruth Wilson | Constellations | Marianne |
| 2016 (70th) | | | |
| 2016 (70th) | Jessica Lange | Long Day's Journey into Night | Mary Tyrone |
| 2016 (70th) | Laurie Metcalf | Misery | Annie Wilkes |
| 2016 (70th) | Lupita Nyong'o | Eclipsed | The Girl |
| 2016 (70th) | Sophie Okonedo | The Crucible | Elizabeth Proctor |
| 2016 (70th) | Michelle Williams | Blackbird | Una Spencer |
| 2017 (71st) | | | |
| 2017 (71st) | Laurie Metcalf | A Doll's House, Part 2 | Nora Helmer |
| 2017 (71st) | Cate Blanchett | The Present | Anna Petrovna |
| 2017 (71st) | Jennifer Ehle | Oslo | Mona Juul |
| 2017 (71st) | Sally Field | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield |
| 2017 (71st) | Laura Linney | The Little Foxes | Regina Hubbard Giddens |
| 2018 (72nd) | | | |
| 2018 (72nd) | Glenda Jackson | Three Tall Women | A |
| 2018 (72nd) | Condola Rashād | Saint Joan | Joan of Arc |
| 2018 (72nd) | Lauren Ridloff | Children of a Lesser God | Sarah Norman |
| 2018 (72nd) | Amy Schumer | Meteor Shower | Corky |
| 2019 (73rd) | | | |
| 2019 (73rd) | Elaine May | The Waverly Gallery | Gladys Green |
| 2019 (73rd) | Annette Bening | All My Sons | Kate Keller |
| 2019 (73rd) | Laura Donnelly | The Ferryman | Caitlin Carney |
| 2019 (73rd) | Janet McTeer | Bernhardt/Hamlet | Sarah Bernhardt |
| 2019 (73rd) | Laurie Metcalf | Hillary and Clinton | Hillary Clinton |
| 2019 (73rd) | Heidi Schreck | What the Constitution Means to Me | Heidi Schreck |

### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Play | Role(s) | Ref. |
| 2020 (74th) |
| 2020 (74th) | Mary-Louise Parker | The Sound Inside | Bella Baird | |
| 2020 (74th) | Joaquina Kalukango | Slave Play | Kaneisha | |
| 2020 (74th) | Laura Linney | My Name Is Lucy Barton | Lucy Barton | |
| 2020 (74th) | Audra McDonald | Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune | Frankie | |
| 2021 | No ceremony | No ceremony | No ceremony | No ceremony |
| 2022 (75th) |
| 2022 (75th) | Deirdre O'Connell | Dana H. | Dana H. | |
| 2022 (75th) | Gabby Beans | The Skin of Our Teeth | Sabina | |
| 2022 (75th) | LaChanze | Trouble in Mind | Wiletta Mayer | |
| 2022 (75th) | Ruth Negga | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | |
| 2022 (75th) | Mary-Louise Parker | How I Learned to Drive | Li'l Bit | |
| 2023 (76th) | | | | |
| 2023 (76th) | Jodie Comer | Prima Facie | Tessa Ensler | |
| 2023 (76th) | Jessica Chastain | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | |
| 2023 (76th) | Jessica Hecht | Summer, 1976 | Alice | |
| 2023 (76th) | Audra McDonald | Ohio State Murders | Suzanne Alexander | |
| 2024 (77th) | | | | |
| 2024 (77th) | Sarah Paulson | Appropriate | Antoinette "Toni" Lafayette | |
| 2024 (77th) | Betsy Aidem | Prayer for the French Republic | Marcelle Salomon Benhamou | |
| 2024 (77th) | Jessica Lange | Mother Play | Phyllis | |
| 2024 (77th) | Rachel McAdams | Mary Jane | Mary Jane | |
| 2024 (77th) | Amy Ryan | Doubt: A Parable | Sister Aloysius Beauvier | |

## Statistics
### Most wins
#### 5 wins

* Julie Harris

#### 3 wins

* Zoe Caldwell
* Jessica Tandy

#### 2 wins

* Shirley Booth
* Glenn Close
* Uta Hagen
* Helen Hayes
* Cherry Jones
* Margaret Leighton
* Mary-Louise Parker
* Irene Worth

### Most nominations
#### 9 nominations

* Julie Harris

#### 8 nominations

* Rosemary Harris

#### 7 nominations

* Colleen Dewhurst

#### 6 Nominations

* Jane Alexander

#### 5 nominations

* Stockard Channing
* Cherry Jones
* Laura Linney
* Mary-Louise Parker

#### 4 nominations

* Eileen Atkins
* Glenda Jackson
* Linda Lavin
* Margaret Leighton
* Laurie Metcalf
* Estelle Parsons
* Maureen Stapleton
* Jessica Tandy
* Irene Worth

#### 3 nominations

* Zoe Caldwell
* Helen Hayes
* Madeline Kahn
* Audra McDonald
* Janet McTeer
* Helen Mirren
* Kate Nelligan
* Geraldine Page
* Lynn Redgrave
* Vanessa Redgrave
* Diana Rigg
* Maggie Smith

#### 2 nominations

* Joan Allen
* Nina Arianda
* Elizabeth Ashley
* Jayne Atkinson
* Anne Bancroft
* Barbara Bel Geddes
* Eve Best
* Shirley Booth
* Kate Burton
* Glenn Close
* Gladys Cooper
* Blythe Danner
* Lindsay Duncan
* Jennifer Ehle
* Tovah Feldshuh
* Uta Hagen
* Swoosie Kurtz
* Jessica Lange
* Frances McDormand
* Siobhán McKenna
* Claudia McNeil
* Amy Morton
* Cynthia Nixon
* Amanda Plummer
* Phylicia Rashad
* Mercedes Ruehl
* Marian Seldes
* Kim Stanley
* Kathleen Turner
* Liv Ullmann

### Character win total
#### 3 wins

* Medea from Medea

#### 2 wins

* Amanda Prynne from Private Lives
* Annie from The Real Thing
* Joan of Arc from Joan of Lorraine and The Lark
* Mary Tyrone from Long Day's Journey into Night
* Nora Helmer from A Doll's House and A Doll's House, Part 2

### Character nomination total
#### 5 nominations

* Josie Hogan from A Moon for the Misbegotten

#### 4 nominations

* Medea from Medea
* Martha from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
* Nora Helmer from A Doll's House and A Doll's House, Part 2

#### 3 nominations

* Amanda Prynne from Private Lives
* Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing
* Claire Zachanassian from The Visit
* Joan of Arc from Joan of Lorraine, The Lark and Saint Joan
* Lady Macbeth from Macbeth
* Lena Younger from A Raisin in the Sun
* Maggie Pollitt from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
* Mary Tyrone from Long Day's Journey into Night

#### 2 nominations

* Amanda Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie
* Anna Christopherson from Anna Christie
* Annie from The Real Thing
* Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire
* Claire from A Delicate Balance
* Eleanor of Aquitaine from The Lion in Winter
* Elizabeth I from Vivat! Vivat Regina! and Mary Stuart
* Elizabeth Proctor from The Crucible
* Emma from Betrayal
* Emma 'Billie' Dawn from Born Yesterday
* Fonsia Dorsey from The Gin Game
* Golda Meir from Golda and Golda's Balcony
* Heidi Holland from The Heidi Chronicles
* Hesione Hushabye from Heartbreak House
* Josephine from A Taste of Honey
* Julie Cavendish from The Royal Family
* Kyra Hollis from Skylight
* Lola Delaney from Come Back, Little Sheba
* Portia from The Merchant of Venice
* Princess Cosmonopolis from Sweet Bird of Youth
* Regina Giddens from The Little Foxes
* Ruth from The Homecoming
* Sarah Melody from A Touch of the Poet and More Stately Mansions
* Sarah Norman from Children of a Lesser God
* Sheila from A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
* Sister Aloysius Beauvier from Doubt
Characters nominated for both the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
* Joan of Arc from Goodtime Charley, Saint Joan, Joan of Lorraine and The Lark
* Countess Aurelia from The Madwoman of Chaillot and Dear World
* Sally Bowles from I Am a Camera and Cabaret
* Leona Samish from The Time of the Cuckoo and Do I Hear a Waltz?
* Dolly Gallagher Levi from The Matchmaker and Hello Dolly!
* Lena Younger from A Raisin in the Sun and Raisin
* Mame Dennis from Auntie Mame and Mame
* Eliza Gant from Look Homeward, Angel and Angel
* Claire Zachanassian The Visit (play) and The Visit (musical)
* Sister Margaret Alexander from The Amen Corner and Amen Corner (musical)
* Eliza Doolittle from Pygmalion and My Fair Lady
* Lizzie Curry from The Rainmaker and 110 in the Shade.
* Lily Garland / Mildred Plotka from Twentieth Century and On the Twentieth Century
* Madame Arcati from Blithe Spirit and High Spirits
* Anna Christopherson from Anna Christie and New Girl in Town

### Productions with multiple nominations

boldface=Winner
* The Chalk Garden – Gladys Cooper and Siobhán McKenna
* Toys In The Attic – Maureen Stapleton and Irene Worth
* The Killing of Sister George – Beryl Reid and Eileen Atkins
* 'night, Mother – Kathy Bates and Anne Pitoniak
* A Streetcar Named Desire – Blythe Danner and Frances McDormand
* The Sisters Rosensweig – Madeline Kahn and Jane Alexander
* A Delicate Balance – Rosemary Harris and Elaine Stritch
* August: Osage County – Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton
* God of Carnage – Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis
* Mary Stuart – Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter (God of Carnage and Mary Stuart were produced in the same year)

### Multiple awards and nominations
#### Actresses who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories

| Awards | Nominations | Recipient |
| 6 | 10 | Audra McDonald |
| 5 | 10 | Julie Harris |
| 5 | 7 | Angela Lansbury |
| 4 | 6 | Gwen Verdon |
| 4 | 4 | Zoe Caldwell |
| 3 | 8 | Patti LuPone |
| 3 | 5 | Irene Worth |
| 3 | 5 | Jessica Tandy |
| 3 | 4 | Glenn Close |
| 3 | 4 | Mary Martin |
| 3 | 3 | Shirley Booth |
| 2 | 10 | Chita Rivera |
| 2 | 8 | Colleen Dewhurst |
| 2 | 7 | Bernadette Peters |
| 2 | 7 | Frances Sternhagen |
| 2 | 7 | Sutton Foster |
| 2 | 6 | Andrea Martin |
| 2 | 6 | Laurie Metcalf |
| 2 | 6 | Maureen Stapleton |
| 2 | 5 | Victoria Clark |
| 2 | 5 | Cherry Jones |
| 2 | 5 | Donna Murphy |
| 2 | 5 | Mary-Louise Parker |
| 2 | 5 | Swoosie Kurtz |
| 2 | 4 | Christine Ebersole |
| 2 | 4 | Cynthia Nixon |
| 2 | 4 | Judith Ivey |
| 2 | 4 | Judy Kaye |
| 2 | 4 | Margaret Leighton |
| 2 | 3 | Anne Bancroft |
| 2 | 3 | Bebe Neuwirth |
| 2 | 3 | Helen Gallagher |
| 2 | 3 | Helen Hayes |
| 2 | 3 | Jennifer Ehle |
| 2 | 3 | Judith Light |
| 2 | 3 | Liza Minnelli |
| 2 | 3 | Phylicia Rashad |
| 2 | 3 | Viola Davis |
| 2 | 2 | Christine Baranski |
| 2 | 2 | Katie Finneran |
| 2 | 2 | Lauren Bacall |
| 2 | 2 | Sandy Dennis |
| 2 | 2 | Tammy Grimes |
| 2 | 2 | Uta Hagen |
| 1 | 9 | Rosemary Harris |
| 1 | 8 | Jane Alexander |
| 1 | 8 | Stockard Channing |
| 1 | 7 | Kelli O'Hara |
| 1 | 6 | Linda Lavin |
| 1 | 5 | Celia Keenan-Bolger |
| 1 | 5 | Glenda Jackson |
| 1 | 5 | Jayne Houdyshell |
| 1 | 5 | Laura Benanti |
| 1 | 5 | Marian Seldes |
| 1 | 4 | Blythe Danner |
| 1 | 4 | Carol Channing |
| 1 | 4 | Carole Shelley |
| 1 | 4 | Debra Monk |
| 1 | 4 | Diana Rigg |
| 1 | 4 | Faith Prince |
| 1 | 4 | Jessie Mueller |
| 1 | 4 | Julie White |
| 1 | 4 | Karen Ziemba |
| 1 | 4 | LaChanze |
| 1 | 4 | Madeline Kahn |
| 1 | 3 | Amanda Plummer |
| 1 | 3 | Annaleigh Ashford |
| 1 | 3 | Barbara Harris |
| 1 | 3 | Beth Leavel |
| 1 | 3 | Dorothy Loudon |
| 1 | 3 | Elizabeth Ashley |
| 1 | 3 | Elizabeth Franz |
| 1 | 3 | Ethel Merman |
| 1 | 3 | Helen Mirren |
| 1 | 3 | Idina Menzel |
| 1 | 3 | Jane Krakowski |
| 1 | 3 | Janet McTeer |
| 1 | 3 | Joanna Gleason |
| 1 | 3 | Kristin Chenoweth |
| 1 | 3 | Lois Smith |
| 1 | 3 | Maggie Smith |
| 1 | 3 | Mercedes Ruehl |
| 1 | 3 | Rae Allen |
| 1 | 3 | Stephanie J. Block |
| 1 | 3 | Tonya Pinkins |
| 1 | 3 | Tyne Daly |
| 1 | 3 | Vanessa Redgrave |
| 1 | 2 | Adriane Lenox |
| 1 | 2 | Adrienne Warren |
| 1 | 2 | Alexis Smith |
| 1 | 2 | Alice Ghostly |
| 1 | 2 | Alice Ripley |
| 1 | 2 | Anika Noni Rose |
| 1 | 2 | Anna Manahan |
| 1 | 2 | Barbara Cook |
| 1 | 2 | Betty Buckley |
| 1 | 2 | Cady Huffman |
| 1 | 2 | Dolores Gray |
| 1 | 2 | Frances McDormand |
| 1 | 2 | Gretha Boston |
| 1 | 2 | Jessica Lange |
| 1 | 2 | Jo Van Fleet |
| 1 | 2 | Joan Allen |
| 1 | 2 | Joaquina Kalukango |
| 1 | 2 | Judith Anderson |
| 1 | 2 | Karen Olivo |
| 1 | 2 | Leora Dana |
| 1 | 2 | Leslie Uggams |
| 1 | 2 | Liliane Montevecchi |
| 1 | 2 | Lillias White |
| 1 | 2 | Linda Hopkins |
| 1 | 2 | Lindsay Duncan |
| 1 | 2 | Lindsay Mendez |
| 1 | 2 | Lotte Lenya |
| 1 | 2 | Lynne Thigpen |
| 1 | 2 | Marcia Gay Harden |
| 1 | 2 | Margaret Tyzack |
| 1 | 2 | Maria Karnilova |
| 1 | 2 | Mary Alice |
| 1 | 2 | Maryann Plunkett |
| 1 | 2 | Mary Louise Wilson |
| 1 | 2 | Nanette Fabray |
| 1 | 2 | Natasha Richardson |
| 1 | 2 | Nikki M. James |
| 1 | 2 | Nina Arianda |
| 1 | 2 | Patina Miller |
| 1 | 2 | Patricia Elliott |
| 1 | 2 | Patsy Kelly |
| 1 | 2 | Phyllis Newman |
| 1 | 2 | Priscilla Lopez |
| 1 | 2 | Randy Graff |
| 1 | 2 | Rosalind Russell |
| 1 | 2 | Ruthie Ann Miles |
| 1 | 2 | Shirley Knight |
| 1 | 2 | Sophie Okonedo |
| Nominations | Recipient |
| 5 | Dana Ivey |
| 5 | Laura Linney |
| 5 | Estelle Parsons |
| 5 | Jan Maxwell |
| 4 | Condola Rashad |
| 4 | Eileen Atkins |
| 4 | Elaine Stritch |
| 4 | Geraldine Page |
| 4 | Judy Kuhn |
| 4 | Kate Nelligan |
| 4 | Tovah Feldshuh |
| 4 | Zoë Wanamaker |
| 3 | Amy Ryan |
| 3 | Brenda Vaccaro |
| 3 | Carolee Carmello |
| 3 | Dee Hoty |
| 3 | Eileen Heckart |
| 3 | Julie Andrews |
| 3 | Kara Young |
| 3 | Kate Burton |
| 3 | Linda Emond |
| 3 | Louise Troy |
| 3 | Lynn Redgrave |
| 3 | Marin Mazzie |
| 3 | Martha Plimpton |
| 3 | Mary Beth Hurt |
| 3 | Mary Testa |
| 3 | Rebecca Luker |
| 3 | Rosemary Murphy |
| 3 | Sandy Duncan |
| 2 | Alison Fraser |
| 2 | Allison Janney |
| 2 | Amy Morton |
| 2 | Ann Reinking |
| 2 | Anne Pitoniak |
| 2 | Annette Bening |
| 2 | Barbara Bel Geddes |
| 2 | Barbra Streisand |
| 2 | Beatrice Lillie |
| 2 | Beth Fowler |
| 2 | Carmen Cusack |
| 2 | Carol Burnett |
| 2 | Charlotte d'Amboise |
| 2 | Charlotte Rae |
| 2 | Christine Andreas |
| 2 | Claudia McNeil |
| 2 | Crista Moore |
| 2 | Daphne Rubin-Vega |
| 2 | Debbie Allen |
| 2 | Diana Sands |
| 2 | Eartha Kitt |
| 2 | Elizabeth Allen |
| 2 | Ernestine Jackson |
| 2 | Eva Noblezada |
| 2 | Eve Best |
| 2 | Fionnula Flanagan |
| 2 | Georgia Brown |
| 2 | Gladys Cooper |
| 2 | Inga Swenson |
| 2 | Jane Fonda |
| 2 | Jayne Atkinson |
| 2 | Jennifer Simard |
| 2 | Jessica Hecht |
| 2 | Johanna Day |
| 2 | Josephine Premice |
| 2 | Josie de Guzman |
| 2 | Julienne Marie |
| 2 | Kate Baldwin |
| 2 | Kate Reid |
| 2 | Katharine Hepburn |
| 2 | Kathleen Turner |
| 2 | Kim Stanley |
| 2 | Kristine Nielsen |
| 2 | Laura Osnes |
| 2 | Leland Palmer |
| 2 | Liv Ullmann |
| 2 | Marcia Lewis |
| 2 | Mare Winningham |
| 2 | Mary Beth Peil |
| 2 | Michele Lee |
| 2 | Mildred Natwick |
| 2 | Millicent Martin |
| 2 | Nancy Dussault |
| 2 | Nancy Walker |
| 2 | Penny Fuller |
| 2 | Pert Kelton |
| 2 | Ruth Wilson |
| 2 | S. Epatha Merkerson |
| 2 | Sarah Stiles |
| 2 | Sherie Rene Scott |
| 2 | Shoshana Bean |
| 2 | Sinéad Cusack |
| 2 | Siobhán McKenna |
| 2 | Spencer Kayden |
| 2 | Susan Browning |
| 2 | Tammy Blanchard |
| 2 | Vivian Reed |
| 2 | Zohra Lampert |