# AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The AACTA is a non-profit organisation, whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television".
The award is presented annually at the AACTA Awards, which hands out accolades for achievements in feature films, television, documentaries, and short films. From 1971 to 2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards). When the AFI launched the AACTA in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
From 1971 to 1975, it was presented as a special award, and was accompanied with a cash prize, before it became a competitive award from 1976 onward. Judy Davis is the most nominated and winning actress in this category, with nine nominations, including six wins, most recently for her role in Nitram (2021).
Candidates for this award must be female, and cannot be nominated for the same role in the supporting actress category.

## Winners and nominees

In the following table, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year. The actress in bold and in dark blue background have received a special award; those in bold and in yellow background have won a regular competitive award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the table always lists the winning actress first and then the other nominees.

### AFI Awards
#### 1970s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 1971 (13th) | Monica Maughan | A City's Child | Woman |
| 1972 (14th) | Jacki Weaver | Stork | Anna |
| 1973 (15th) | Judy Morris | Libido: The Child | Sybil |
| 1974–75 (16th and 17th) | Julie Dawson | Who Killed Jenny Langby? | Jenny Langby |
| 1976 (18th) | Helen Morse | Caddie | Caddie Marsh |
| 1976 (18th) | Briony Behets | The Trespassers | Penny |
| 1976 (18th) | Helen Morse | Picnic at Hanging Rock | Mlle. de Poitiers |
| 1976 (18th) | Judy Morris | The Trespassers | Dee |
| 1977 (19th) | Pat Bishop | Don's Party | Jenny |
| 1977 (19th) | Jeanie Drynan | Don's Party | Kath Henderson |
| 1977 (19th) | Sara Kestelman | Break of Day | Alice |
| 1977 (19th) | Robyn Nevin | The Fourth Wish | Connie |
| 1978 (20th) | Angela Punch McGregor | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Gilda Marshall |
| 1978 (20th) | Geraldine Fitzgerald | The Mango Tree | Grandma Carr |
| 1978 (20th) | Wendy Hughes | Newsfront | Amy Mackenzie |
| 1978 (20th) | Kim Krejus | Mouth to Mouth | Carrie |
| 1979 (21st) | Michele Fawdon | Cathy's Child | Cathy |
| 1979 (21st) | Ruth Cracknell | The Night the Prowler | Doris Bannister |
| 1979 (21st) | Judy Davis | My Brilliant Career | Sybylla Melvyn |
| 1979 (21st) | Sigrid Thornton | Snapshot | Madeline |

#### 1980s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 1980 (22nd) | Tracy Mann | Hard Knocks | Samantha |
| 1980 (22nd) | Carmen Duncan | Harlequin | Sandra Rast |
| 1980 (22nd) | Judy Morris | ...Maybe This Time | Fran |
| 1980 (22nd) | Mawuyul Yanthalawuy | Manganinnie | Manganinnie |
| 1981 (23rd) | Judy Davis | Winter of Our Dreams | Lou |
| 1981 (23rd) | Jenny Agutter | The Survivor | Hobbs |
| 1981 (23rd) | Lorraine Bayly | Fatty Finn | Maggie McGrath |
| 1981 (23rd) | Noni Hazlehurst | Fatty Finn | Myrtle Finn |
| 1982 (24th) | Noni Hazlehurst | Monkey Grip | Nora |
| 1982 (24th) | Wendy Hughes | Lonely Hearts | Patricia Curnow |
| 1982 (24th) | Carol Kane | Norman Loves Rose | Rose |
| 1982 (24th) | Angela Punch McGregor | We of the Never Never | Jeannie Gunn |
| 1983 (25th) | Wendy Hughes | Careful, He Might Hear You | Vanessa |
| 1983 (25th) | Lorna Lesley | The Settlement | Joycie |
| 1983 (25th) | Kris McQuade | Buddies | Stella |
| 1983 (25th) | Geneviève Picot | Undercover | Libby |
| 1984 (26th) | Angela Punch McGregor | Annie's Coming Out | Jessica Hathaway |
| 1984 (26th) | Carol Burns | Strikebound | Agnes Doig |
| 1984 (26th) | Gosia Dobrowolska | Silver City | Nina |
| 1984 (26th) | Wendy Hughes | My First Wife | Helen |
| 1985 (27th) | Noni Hazlehurst | Fran | Fran |
| 1985 (27th) | Debra Byrne | Rebel | Kathy McLeod |
| 1985 (27th) | Lynette Curran | Bliss | Bettina Joy |
| 1985 (27th) | Michele Fawdon | Unfinished Business | Maureen |
| 1986 (28th) | Judy Davis | Kangaroo | Harriet Somers |
| 1986 (28th) | Helen Buday | For Love Alone | Teresa |
| 1986 (28th) | Judy Morris | The More Things Change... | Connie |
| 1986 (28th) | Justine Saunders | The Fringe Dwellers | Mollie Comeaway |
| 1987 (29th) | Judy Davis | High Tide | Lillie |
| 1987 (29th) | Julia Blake | Travelling North | Frances |
| 1987 (29th) | Loene Carmen | The Year My Voice Broke | Freya Olson |
| 1987 (29th) | Wendy Hughes | Echoes of Paradise | Maria |
| 1988 (30th) | Nadine Garner | Mull | Phoebe Mullens |
| 1988 (30th) | Wendy Hughes | Boundaries of the Heart | Stella Marsden |
| 1988 (30th) | Rosey Jones | Afraid to Dance | The Female |
| 1988 (30th) | Jo Kennedy | Tender Hooks | Mitch |
| 1989 (31st) | Meryl Streep | Evil Angels | Lindy Chamberlain |
| 1989 (31st) | Judy Davis | Georgia | Nina Bailley and Georgia White |
| 1989 (31st) | Geneviève Lemon | Sweetie | Dawn (Sweetie) |
| 1989 (31st) | Irini Pappas | Island | Marquise |

#### 1990s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 1990 (32nd) | Catherine McClements | Weekend with Kate | Kate Moir |
| 1990 (32nd) | Kerry Armstrong | Hunting | Michelle Harris |
| 1990 (32nd) | Rosanna Arquette | Wendy Cracked a Walnut | Wendy |
| 1990 (32nd) | Claudia Karvan | The Big Steal | Joanna Johnson |
| 1991 (33rd) | Sheila Florance | A Woman's Tale | Martha |
| 1991 (33rd) | Eri Ishida | Aya | Aya |
| 1991 (33rd) | Angie Milliken | Act of Necessity | Louise Coleman |
| 1991 (33rd) | Geneviève Picot | Proof | Celia |
| 1992 (34th) | Lisa Harrow | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Beth |
| 1992 (34th) | Claudia Karvan | Redheads | Lucy |
| 1992 (34th) | Tara Morice | Strictly Ballroom | Fran |
| 1992 (34th) | Miranda Otto | Daydream Believer | Nell Tiscowitz |
| 1993 (35th) | Holly Hunter | The Piano | Ada McGrath |
| 1993 (35th) | Claudia Karvan | Broken Highway | Catherine |
| 1993 (35th) | Fiona Ruttelle | Say a Little Prayer | Angie |
| 1993 (35th) | Jacqueline McKenzie | This Won't Hurt A Bit! | Vanessa Prescott |
| 1994 (36th) | Toni Collette | Muriel's Wedding | Muriel Heslop |
| 1994 (36th) | Tara FitzGerald | Sirens | Estella Campion |
| 1994 (36th) | Kerry Fox | Country Life | Sally Voysey |
| 1994 (36th) | Victoria Longley | Talk | Julia Strong |
| 1995 (37th) | Jacqueline McKenzie | Angel Baby | Kate |
| 1995 (37th) | Caroline Gillmer | Hotel Sorrento | Hilary Moynihan |
| 1995 (37th) | Caroline Goodall | Hotel Sorrento | Meg Moynihan |
| 1995 (37th) | Lisa Harrow | That Eye, the Sky | Alice Flack |
| 1996 (38th) | Judy Davis | Children of the Revolution | Joan |
| 1996 (38th) | Gia Carides | Brilliant Lies | Susy Connor |
| 1996 (38th) | Claudia Karvan | Dating the Enemy | Tash |
| 1996 (38th) | Frances O'Connor | Love and Other Catastrophes | Mia |
| 1997 (39th) | Pamela Rabe | The Well | Hester |
| 1997 (39th) | Frances O'Connor | Kiss or Kill | Nikki Davies |
| 1997 (39th) | Frances O'Connor | Thank God He Met Lizzie | Jenny |
| 1997 (39th) | Miranda Otto | The Well | Katherine |
| 1998 (40th) | Deborah Mailman | Radiance | Nona |
| 1998 (40th) | Cate Blanchett | Oscar and Lucinda | Lucinda Leplastrier |
| 1998 (40th) | Lynette Curran | The Boys | Sandra Sprague |
| 1998 (40th) | Rachel Griffiths | Amy | Tanya Rammus |
| 1999 (41st) | Sacha Horler | Praise | Cynthia |
| 1999 (41st) | Jeanie Drynan | Soft Fruit | Patsy |
| 1999 (41st) | Michela Noonan | Strange Fits of Passion | She |
| 1999 (41st) | Maya Stange | In a Savage Land | Evelyn Spence |

#### 2000s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2000 (42nd) | Pia Miranda | Looking for Alibrandi | Josephine Alibrandi |
| 2000 (42nd) | Julia Blake | Innocence | Claire |
| 2000 (42nd) | Rachel Griffiths | Me Myself I | Pamela Drury |
| 2000 (42nd) | Susie Porter | Better Than Sex | Cin |
| 2001 (43rd) | Kerry Armstrong | Lantana | Sonja Zat |
| 2001 (43rd) | Alice Ansara | La Spagnola | Lucia |
| 2001 (43rd) | Nicole Kidman | Moulin Rouge! | Satine |
| 2001 (43rd) | Lola Marceli | La Spagnola | Lola |
| 2002 (44th) | Maria Theodorakis | Walking on Water | Anna |
| 2002 (44th) | Judy Davis | Swimming Upstream | Dora Fingleton |
| 2002 (44th) | Rachel Griffiths | The Hard Word | Carol |
| 2002 (44th) | Dannielle Hall | Beneath Clouds | Lena |
| 2003 (45th) | Toni Collette | Japanese Story | Sandy Edwards |
| 2003 (45th) | Helen Buday | Alexandra's Project | Alexandra |
| 2003 (45th) | Rose Byrne | The Rage in Placid Lake | Gemma Taylor |
| 2003 (45th) | Susie Porter | Teesh and Trude | Letitia (Teesh) |
| 2004 (46th) | Abbie Cornish | Somersault | Heidi |
| 2004 (46th) | Chloe Maxwell | Under the Radar | Jo |
| 2004 (46th) | Olivia Pigeot | A Cold Summer | Tia |
| 2004 (46th) | Leeanna Walsman | One Perfect Day | Alysse |
| 2005 (47th) | Cate Blanchett | Little Fish | Tracy Louise Heart |
| 2005 (47th) | Saskia Burmeister | Hating Alison Ashley | "Erk" Erica "Yuk" Yurken |
| 2005 (47th) | Justine Clarke | Look Both Ways | Meryl Lee |
| 2005 (47th) | Frances O'Connor | Three Dollars | Tanya |
| 2006 (48th) | Emily Barclay | Suburban Mayhem | Katrina |
| 2006 (48th) | Abbie Cornish | Candy | Candy |
| 2006 (48th) | Laura Linney | Jindabyne | Claire |
| 2006 (48th) | Teresa Palmer | 2:37 | Melody |
| 2007 (49th) | Joan Chen | The Home Song Stories | Rose |
| 2007 (49th) | Kerry Armstrong | Razzle Dazzle | Justine Morgan |
| 2007 (49th) | Brenda Blethyn | Clubland | Jean Dwight |
| 2007 (49th) | Franka Potente | Romulus, My Father | Christine |
| 2008 (50th) | Monic Hendrickx | Unfinished Sky | Tahmeena |
| 2008 (50th) | Noni Hazlehurst | Bitter & Twisted | Penelope Lombard |
| 2008 (50th) | Emma Lung | The Jammed | Crystal |
| 2008 (50th) | Veronica Sywak | The Jammed | Ashley |
| 2009 (51st) | Frances O'Connor | Blessed | Rhonda |
| 2009 (51st) | Marissa Gibson | Samson and Delilah | Delilah |
| 2009 (51st) | Sacha Horler | My Year Without Sex | Natalie |
| 2009 (51st) | Sophie Lowe | Beautiful Kate | Kate |

#### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2010 (52nd) | Jacki Weaver | Animal Kingdom | Janine "Smurf" Cody |
| 2010 (52nd) | Abbie Cornish | Bright Star | Fanny Brawne |
| 2010 (52nd) | Morgana Davies | The Tree | Simone |
| 2010 (52nd) | Charlotte Gainsbourg | The Tree | Dawn |

### AACTA Awards
#### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2011 (1st) | Judy Davis | The Eye of the Storm | Dorothy de Lascabanes |
| 2011 (1st) | Frances O'Connor | The Hunter | Lucy Armstrong |
| 2011 (1st) | Charlotte Rampling | The Eye of the Storm | Elizabeth Hunter |
| 2011 (1st) | Emily Watson | Oranges and Sunshine | Margaret Humphreys |
| 2012 (2nd) | Deborah Mailman | The Sapphires | Gail McCrae |
| 2012 (2nd) | Toni Collette | Mental | Shaz |
| 2012 (2nd) | Felicity Price | Wish You Were Here | Alice Flannery |
| 2012 (2nd) | Sarah Snook | Not Suitable for Children | Stevie |
| 2013 (3rd) | Rose Byrne | The Turning | Raelene |
| 2013 (3rd) | Carey Mulligan | The Great Gatsby | Daisy Buchanan |
| 2013 (3rd) | Tasma Walton | Mystery Road | Mary Swan |
| 2013 (3rd) | Naomi Watts | Adoration | Lil |
| 2014 (4th) | Sarah Snook | Predestination | The unmarried mother |
| 2014 (4th) | Kate Box | The Little Death | Rowena |
| 2014 (4th) | Essie Davis | The Babadook | Amelia |
| 2014 (4th) | Mia Wasikowska | Tracks | Robyn Davidson |
| 2015 (5th) | Kate Winslet | The Dressmaker | Myrtle 'Tilly' Dunnage |
| 2015 (5th) | Robyn Butler | Now Add Honey | Caroline Morgan |
| 2015 (5th) | Ningali Lawford-Wolf | Last Cab to Darwin | Polly |
| 2015 (5th) | Charlize Theron | Mad Max: Fury Road | Imperator Furiosa |
| 2016 (6th) | Odessa Young | The Daughter | Hedvig |
| 2016 (6th) | Maeve Dermody | Pawno | Kate |
| 2016 (6th) | Maggie Naouri | Joe Cinque's Consolation | Anu Singh |
| 2016 (6th) | Teresa Palmer | Hacksaw Ridge | Dorothy Schutte |
| 2017 (7th) | Emma Booth | Hounds of Love | Evelyn White |
| 2017 (7th) | Teresa Palmer | Berlin Syndrome | Clare |
| 2017 (7th) | Helana Sawires | Ali's Wedding | Dianne |
| 2017 (7th) | Sara West | Don't Tell | Lyndal |
| 2018 (8th) | Angourie Rice | Ladies in Black | Lisa |
| 2018 (8th) | Abbey Lee | 1% | Katrina |
| 2018 (8th) | Rooney Mara | Mary Magdalene | Mary Magdalene |
| 2018 (8th) | Kate Mulvany | The Merger | Angie Barlow |
| 2018 (8th) | Julia Ormond | Ladies in Black | Magda |
| 2019 (9th) | Aisling Franciosi | The Nightingale | Clare Carroll |
| 2019 (9th) | Nazanin Boniadi | Hotel Mumbai | Zahra |
| 2019 (9th) | Teresa Palmer | Ride Like a Girl | Michelle Payne |
| 2019 (9th) | Miranda Tapsell | Top End Wedding | Lauren |
| 2019 (9th) | Mia Wasikowska | Judy and Punch | Judy |

#### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Film | Role |
| 2020 (10th) | Eliza Scanlen | Babyteeth | Milla Finlay |
| 2020 (10th) | Tilda Cobham-Hervey | I Am Woman | Helen Reddy |
| 2020 (10th) | Laura Gordon | Undertow | Claire |
| 2020 (10th) | Elisabeth Moss | The Invisible Man | Cecilia Kass |
| 2020 (10th) | Lupita Nyong'o | Little Monsters | Miss Audrey Caroline |
| 2021 (11th) | Judy Davis | Nitram | Nitram's mother |
| 2021 (11th) | Rose Byrne | Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway | Bea McGregor |
| 2021 (11th) | Noni Hazlehurst | June Again | June |
| 2021 (11th) | Genevieve O'Reilly | The Dry | Gretchen |
| 2021 (11th) | Naomi Watts | Penguin Bloom | Sam Bloom |
| 2022 (12th) | Leah Purcell | The Drover's Wife | Molly Johnson |
| 2022 (12th) | Aisha Dee | Sissy | Cecilia/Sissy |
| 2022 (12th) | Julia Savage | Blaze | Blaze |
| 2022 (12th) | Tilda Swinton | Three Thousand Years of Longing | Alithea |
| 2022 (12th) | Jackie van Beek | Nude Tuesday | Laura |
| 2023 (13th) | Sophie Wilde | Talk to Me | Mia |
| 2023 (13th) | Shantae Barnes-Cowan | Sweet As | Murra |
| 2023 (13th) | Cate Blanchett | The New Boy | Sister Eileen |
| 2023 (13th) | Zar Amir Ebrahimi | Shayda | Shayda |
| 2023 (13th) | Julia Garner | The Royal Hotel | Hanna |
| 2023 (13th) | Sarah Snook | Run Rabbit Run | Sarah |