# BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
* From 1952 to 1967, there were two Best Actress awards presented, Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress.
* From 1968 onwards, the two awards merged into one award, which from 1968 to 1984 was known as Best Actress.
* From 1985 to present, the award has been known by its current name of Best Actress in a Leading Role.
In the following lists, the titles and names in bold with a gold background are the winners and recipients respectively; those not in bold are the nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which always takes place the following year.

## Winners and nominees
### 1950s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 1952 (6th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1952 (6th) | Vivien Leigh | A Streetcar Named Desire | Blanche DuBois |
| 1952 (6th) | Phyllis Calvert | Mandy | Christine Garland |
| 1952 (6th) | Celia Johnson | I Believe in You | Matty Matheson |
| 1952 (6th) | Ann Todd | The Sound Barrier | Susan Garthwaite |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1952 (6th) | Simone Signoret | Golden Helmet | Marie |
| 1952 (6th) | Edwige Feuillère | Olivia | Julie |
| 1952 (6th) | Katharine Hepburn | Pat and Mike | Patricia "Pat" Pemberton |
| 1952 (6th) | Judy Holliday | The Marrying Kind | Florence Keefer |
| 1952 (6th) | Nicole Stéphane | The Strange Ones | Elisabeth |
| 1953 (7th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1953 (7th) | Audrey Hepburn | Roman Holiday | Princess Ann |
| 1953 (7th) | Celia Johnson | The Captain's Paradise | Maud |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1953 (7th) | Leslie Caron | Lili | Lili Daurier |
| 1953 (7th) | Shirley Booth | Come Back, Little Sheba | Lola Delaney |
| 1953 (7th) | Marie Powers | The Medium | Flora |
| 1953 (7th) | Maria Schell | The Heart of the Matter | Helen Rolt |
| 1954 (8th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1954 (8th) | Yvonne Mitchell | The Divided Heart | Sonja |
| 1954 (8th) | Brenda de Banzie | Hobson's Choice | Maggie Hobson |
| 1954 (8th) | Audrey Hepburn | Sabrina | Sabrina Fairchild |
| 1954 (8th) | Margaret Leighton | Carrington V.C. | Valerie Carrington |
| 1954 (8th) | Noelle Middleton | Carrington V.C. | Alison L. Graham |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1954 (8th) | Cornell Borchers | The Divided Heart | Inga Hartl |
| 1954 (8th) | Shirley Booth | About Mrs. Leslie | Vivien Leslie |
| 1954 (8th) | Judy Holliday | Phffft | Nina Tracey |
| 1954 (8th) | Grace Kelly | Dial M for Murder | Margot Wendice |
| 1954 (8th) | Gina Lollobrigida | Bread, Love and Dreams | Maria de Ritis |
| 1955 (9th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1955 (9th) | Katie Johnson | The Ladykillers | Louisa Wilberforce |
| 1955 (9th) | Margaret Johnston | Touch and Go | Helen Fletcher |
| 1955 (9th) | Deborah Kerr | The End of the Affair | Sarah Miles |
| 1955 (9th) | Margaret Lockwood | Cast a Dark Shadow | Freda Jefferies |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1955 (9th) | Betsy Blair | Marty | Clara Snyder |
| 1955 (9th) | Dorothy Dandridge | Carmen Jones | Carmen Jones |
| 1955 (9th) | Judy Garland | A Star Is Born | Esther Blodgett |
| 1955 (9th) | Julie Harris | I Am a Camera | Sally Bowles |
| 1955 (9th) | Katharine Hepburn | Summertime | Jane Hudson |
| 1955 (9th) | Grace Kelly | The Country Girl | Georgie Elgin |
| 1955 (9th) | Giulietta Masina | The Road | Gelsomina |
| 1955 (9th) | Marilyn Monroe | The Seven Year Itch | The Girl |
| 1956 (10th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1956 (10th) | Virginia McKenna | A Town Like Alice | Jean Paget |
| 1956 (10th) | Dorothy Alison | Reach for the Sky | Nurse Brace |
| 1956 (10th) | Audrey Hepburn | War and Peace | Natasha Rostova |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1956 (10th) | Anna Magnani | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina Delle Rose |
| 1956 (10th) | Carroll Baker | Baby Doll | Baby Doll Meighan |
| 1956 (10th) | Eva Dahlbeck | Smiles of a Summer Night | Desiree Armfeldt |
| 1956 (10th) | Ava Gardner | Bhowani Junction | Victoria Jones |
| 1956 (10th) | Susan Hayward | I'll Cry Tomorrow | Lillian Roth |
| 1956 (10th) | Shirley MacLaine | The Trouble with Harry | Jennifer Rogers |
| 1956 (10th) | Kim Novak | Picnic | Marjorie Owens |
| 1956 (10th) | Marisa Pavan | The Rose Tattoo | Rose Delle Rose |
| 1956 (10th) | Maria Schell | Gervaise | Gervaise Macquart Coupeau |
| 1956 (10th) | Jean Simmons | Guys and Dolls | Sister Sarah Brown |
| 1957 (11th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1957 (11th) | Heather Sears | The Story of Esther Costello | Esther Costello |
| 1957 (11th) | Deborah Kerr | Tea and Sympathy | Laura Reynolds |
| 1957 (11th) | Sylvia Syms | Woman in a Dressing Gown | Georgie Harlow |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1957 (11th) | Simone Signoret | The Witches of Salem | Elizabeth Proctor |
| 1957 (11th) | Augusta Dabney | That Night! | Maggie Bowden |
| 1957 (11th) | Katharine Hepburn | The Rainmaker | Lizzie Curry |
| 1957 (11th) | Marilyn Monroe | The Prince and the Showgirl | Elsie Marina |
| 1957 (11th) | Lilli Palmer | Is Anna Anderson Anastasia? | Anna Anderson |
| 1957 (11th) | Eva Marie Saint | A Hatful of Rain | Celia Pope |
| 1957 (11th) | Joanne Woodward | The Three Faces of Eve | Eve White |
| 1958 (12th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1958 (12th) | Irene Worth | Orders to Kill | Léonie |
| 1958 (12th) | Hermione Baddeley | Room at the Top | Elspeth |
| 1958 (12th) | Karuna Banerjee | Aparajito | Sarbajaya Roy |
| 1958 (12th) | Virginia McKenna | Carve Her Name with Pride | Violette Szabo |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1958 (12th) | Simone Signoret | Room at the Top | Alice Aisgill |
| 1958 (12th) | Ingrid Bergman | The Inn of the Sixth Happiness | Gladys Aylward |
| 1958 (12th) | Anna Magnani | Wild Is the Wind | Gioia |
| 1958 (12th) | Giulietta Masina | Nights of Cabiria | Cabiria Ceccarelli |
| 1958 (12th) | Tatiana Samoilova | The Cranes Are Flying | Veronika |
| 1958 (12th) | Elizabeth Taylor | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Maggie Pollitt |
| 1958 (12th) | Joanne Woodward | No Down Payment | Leola Boone |
| 1959 (13th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1959 (13th) | Audrey Hepburn | The Nun's Story | Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) |
| 1959 (13th) | Peggy Ashcroft | The Nun's Story | Mother Mathilde |
| 1959 (13th) | Wendy Hiller | Separate Tables | Pat Cooper |
| 1959 (13th) | Yvonne Mitchell | Sapphire | Mildred |
| 1959 (13th) | Sylvia Syms | No Trees in the Street | Hetty |
| 1959 (13th) | Kay Walsh | The Horse's Mouth | Miss. Coker |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1959 (13th) | Shirley MacLaine | Ask Any Girl | Meg Wheeler |
| 1959 (13th) | Ava Gardner | On the Beach | Moira Davidson |
| 1959 (13th) | Susan Hayward | I Want to Live! | Barbara Graham |
| 1959 (13th) | Ellie Lambeti | A Matter of Dignity | Chloe Pella |
| 1959 (13th) | Rosalind Russell | Auntie Mame | Mame Dennis |

### 1960s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 1960 (14th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1960 (14th) | Rachel Roberts | Saturday Night and Sunday Morning | Brenda |
| 1960 (14th) | Wendy Hiller | Sons and Lovers | Gertrude Morel |
| 1960 (14th) | Hayley Mills | Pollyanna | Pollyanna |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1960 (14th) | Shirley MacLaine | The Apartment | Fran Kubelik |
| 1960 (14th) | Pier Angeli | The Angry Silence | Anna Curtis |
| 1960 (14th) | Melina Mercouri | Never on Sunday | Illya |
| 1960 (14th) | Emmanuelle Riva | Hiroshima, My Love | Elle |
| 1960 (14th) | Jean Simmons | Elmer Gantry | Sharon Falconer |
| 1960 (14th) | Monica Vitti | The Adventure | Claudia |
| 1961 (15th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1961 (15th) | Dora Bryan | A Taste of Honey | Helen |
| 1961 (15th) | Deborah Kerr | The Sundowners | Ida Carmody |
| 1961 (15th) | Hayley Mills | Whistle Down the Wind | Kathy Bostock |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1961 (15th) | Sophia Loren | Two Women | Cesira |
| 1961 (15th) | Annie Girardot | Rocco and His Brothers | Nadia |
| 1961 (15th) | Piper Laurie | The Hustler | Sarah Packard |
| 1961 (15th) | Claudia McNeil | A Raisin in the Sun | Lena Younger |
| 1961 (15th) | Jean Seberg | Breathless | Patricia Franchini |
| 1962 (16th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1962 (16th) | Leslie Caron | The L-Shaped Room | Jane Fosset |
| 1962 (16th) | Virginia Maskell | The Wild and the Willing | Virginia Chown |
| 1962 (16th) | Janet Munro | Life for Ruth | Pat Harris |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1962 (16th) | Anne Bancroft | The Miracle Worker | Annie Sullivan |
| 1962 (16th) | Anouk Aimée | Lola | Lola |
| 1962 (16th) | Harriet Andersson | Through a Glass Darkly | Katrin |
| 1962 (16th) | Melina Mercouri | Phaedra | Phaedra |
| 1962 (16th) | Jeanne Moreau | Jules and Jim | Catherine |
| 1962 (16th) | Geraldine Page | Sweet Bird of Youth | Alexandra del Lago |
| 1962 (16th) | Natalie Wood | Splendor in the Grass | Deanie Loomis |
| 1963 (17th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1963 (17th) | Rachel Roberts | This Sporting Life | Margaret Hammond |
| 1963 (17th) | Julie Christie | Billy Liar | Liz |
| 1963 (17th) | Edith Evans | Tom Jones | Miss Western |
| 1963 (17th) | Sarah Miles | The Servant | Vera |
| 1963 (17th) | Barbara Windsor | Sparrows Can't Sing | Maggie Gooding |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1963 (17th) | Patricia Neal | Hud | Alma Brown |
| 1963 (17th) | Joan Crawford | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Blanche Hudson |
| 1963 (17th) | Bette Davis | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Baby Jane Hudson |
| 1963 (17th) | Lee Remick | Days of Wine and Roses | Kirsten Arnesen Clay |
| 1963 (17th) | Daniela Rocca | Divorce Italian Style | Rosalia Cefalù |
| 1964 (18th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1964 (18th) | Audrey Hepburn | Charade | Regina Lampert |
| 1964 (18th) | Edith Evans | The Chalk Garden | Mrs. St. Maugham |
| 1964 (18th) | Deborah Kerr | The Chalk Garden | Mrs. Madrigal |
| 1964 (18th) | Rita Tushingham | Girl with Green Eyes | Kate Brady |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1964 (18th) | Anne Bancroft | The Pumpkin Eater | Jo Armitage |
| 1964 (18th) | Ava Gardner | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine Faulk |
| 1964 (18th) | Shirley MacLaine | Irma la Douce What a Way to Go! | Irma la Douce Louisa Foster |
| 1964 (18th) | Kim Stanley | Séance on a Wet Afternoon | Myra Savage |
| 1965 (19th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1965 (19th) | Julie Christie | Darling | Diana Scott |
| 1965 (19th) | Julie Andrews | The Americanization of Emily The Sound of Music | Emily Barham Maria von Trapp |
| 1965 (19th) | Maggie Smith | Young Cassidy | Nora |
| 1965 (19th) | Rita Tushingham | The Knack ...and How to Get It | Nancy Jones |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1965 (19th) | Patricia Neal | In Harm's Way | Maggie Haines |
| 1965 (19th) | Jane Fonda | Cat Ballou | Catherine Ballou |
| 1965 (19th) | Lila Kedrova | Zorba the Greek | Madame Hortense |
| 1965 (19th) | Simone Signoret | Ship of Fools | La Condesa |
| 1966 (20th) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1966 (20th) | Elizabeth Taylor | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Martha |
| 1966 (20th) | Julie Christie | Doctor Zhivago Fahrenheit 451 | Lara Antipova Linda Montag / Clarisse |
| 1966 (20th) | Lynn Redgrave | Georgy Girl | Georgina "Georgy" Parkin |
| 1966 (20th) | Vanessa Redgrave | Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment | Leonie Delt |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1966 (20th) | Jeanne Moreau | Viva Maria! | Maria I |
| 1966 (20th) | Brigitte Bardot | Viva Maria! | Maria II |
| 1966 (20th) | Joan Hackett | The Group | Dottie Renfrew |
| 1966 (20th) | Simone Signoret | The Sleeping Car Murders | Éliane Darrès |
| 1967 (21st) | Best British Actress | Best British Actress | Best British Actress |
| 1967 (21st) | Edith Evans | The Whisperers | Mrs. Ross |
| 1967 (21st) | Barbara Jefford | Ulysses | Molly Bloom |
| 1967 (21st) | Elizabeth Taylor | The Taming of the Shrew | Katharina |
| Best Foreign Actress |||
| 1967 (21st) | Anouk Aimée | A Man and a Woman | Anne Gauthier |
| 1967 (21st) | Bibi Andersson | My Sister, My Love Persona | Charlotte Alma |
| 1967 (21st) | Jane Fonda | Barefoot in the Park | Corie Bratter |
| 1967 (21st) | Simone Signoret | The Deadly Affair | Elsa Fennan |
| 1968 (22nd) | Best Actress | Best Actress | Best Actress |
| 1968 (22nd) | Katharine Hepburn | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The Lion in Winter | Christina Drayton Eleanor of Aquitaine |
| 1968 (22nd) | Anne Bancroft | The Graduate | Mrs. Robinson |
| 1968 (22nd) | Catherine Deneuve | Beauty of the Day | Séverine Serizy |
| 1968 (22nd) | Joanne Woodward | Rachel, Rachel | Rachel Cameron |
| 1969 (23rd) | Maggie Smith | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jean Brodie |
| 1969 (23rd) | Mia Farrow | John and Mary, Rosemary's Baby Secret Ceremony | Mary Rosemary Woodhouse Cenci |
| 1969 (23rd) | Glenda Jackson | Women in Love | Gudrun Brangwen |
| 1969 (23rd) | Barbra Streisand | Funny Girl Hello Dolly! | Fanny Brice Dolly Gallagher Levi |

### 1970s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 1970 (24th) | Katharine Ross | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here | Etta Place Lola |
| 1970 (24th) | Jane Fonda | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Gloria Beatty |
| 1970 (24th) | Goldie Hawn | Cactus Flower There's a Girl in My Soup | Toni Simmons Marion |
| 1970 (24th) | Sarah Miles | Ryan's Daughter | Rosy Ryan |
| 1971 (25th) | Glenda Jackson | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Alex Greville |
| 1971 (25th) | Lynn Carlin | Taking Off | Lynn Tyne |
| 1971 (25th) | Julie Christie | The Go-Between | Marian |
| 1971 (25th) | Jane Fonda | Klute | Bree Daniels |
| 1971 (25th) | Nanette Newman | The Raging Moon | Jill Matthews |
| 1972 (26th) | Liza Minnelli | Cabaret | Sally Bowles |
| 1972 (26th) | Stéphane Audran | The Butcher | Hélène |
| 1972 (26th) | Anne Bancroft | Young Winston | Lady Randolph Churchill |
| 1972 (26th) | Dorothy Tutin | Savage Messiah | Sophie Brzeska |
| 1973 (27th) | Stéphane Audran | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Just Before Nightfall | Alice Sénéchal Hélène Masson |
| 1973 (27th) | Julie Christie | Don't Look Now | Laura Baxter |
| 1973 (27th) | Glenda Jackson | A Touch of Class | Vicki Allessio |
| 1973 (27th) | Diana Ross | Lady Sings the Blues | Billie Holiday |
| 1974 (28th) | Joanne Woodward | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | Rita Walden |
| 1974 (28th) | Faye Dunaway | Chinatown | Evelyn Mulwray |
| 1974 (28th) | Barbra Streisand | The Way We Were | Katie Morosky |
| 1974 (28th) | Cicely Tyson | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | Jane Pittmann |
| 1975 (29th) | Ellen Burstyn | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | Alice Hyatt |
| 1975 (29th) | Anne Bancroft | The Prisoner of Second Avenue | Edna Edison |
| 1975 (29th) | Valerie Perrine | Lenny | Honey Harlow |
| 1975 (29th) | Liv Ullmann | Scenes from a Marriage | Marianne |
| 1976 (30th) | Louise Fletcher | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Nurse Ratched |
| 1976 (30th) | Lauren Bacall | The Shootist | Bond Rogers |
| 1976 (30th) | Rita Moreno | The Ritz | Googie Gomez |
| 1976 (30th) | Liv Ullmann | Face to Face | Jenny Isaksson |
| 1977 (31st) | Diane Keaton | Annie Hall | Annie Hall |
| 1977 (31st) | Faye Dunaway | Network | Diana Christensen |
| 1977 (31st) | Shelley Duvall | 3 Women | Millie Lammoreaux |
| 1977 (31st) | Lily Tomlin | The Late Show | Margo Sperling |
| 1978 (32nd) | Jane Fonda | Julia | Lillian Hellman |
| 1978 (32nd) | Anne Bancroft | The Turning Point | Emma Jacklin |
| 1978 (32nd) | Jill Clayburgh | An Unmarried Woman | Erica Benton |
| 1978 (32nd) | Marsha Mason | The Goodbye Girl | Paula McFadden |
| 1979 (33rd) | Jane Fonda | The China Syndrome | Kimberly Wells |
| 1979 (33rd) | Diane Keaton | Manhattan | Mary Wilkie |
| 1979 (33rd) | Maggie Smith | California Suite | Diana Barrie |
| 1979 (33rd) | Meryl Streep | The Deer Hunter | Linda |

### 1980s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 1980 (34th) | Judy Davis | My Brilliant Career | Sybylla Melvyn |
| 1980 (34th) | Shirley MacLaine | Being There | Eve Rand |
| 1980 (34th) | Bette Midler | The Rose | Mary Rose Foster |
| 1980 (34th) | Meryl Streep | Kramer vs. Kramer | Joanna Kramer |
| 1981 (35th) | Meryl Streep | The French Lieutenant's Woman | Sara Woodruff and Anna |
| 1981 (35th) | Mary Tyler Moore | Ordinary People | Beth Jarrett |
| 1981 (35th) | Maggie Smith | Quartet | Lois Heidler |
| 1981 (35th) | Sissy Spacek | Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn |
| 1982 (36th) | Katharine Hepburn | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer |
| 1982 (36th) | Diane Keaton | Reds | Louise Bryant |
| 1982 (36th) | Jennifer Kendal | 36 Chowringhee Lane | Violet Stoneham |
| 1982 (36th) | Sissy Spacek | Missing | Beth Horman |
| 1983 (37th) | Julie Walters | Educating Rita | Susan "Rita" White |
| 1983 (37th) | Jessica Lange | Tootsie | Julie Nichols |
| 1983 (37th) | Phyllis Logan | Another Time, Another Place | Janie |
| 1983 (37th) | Meryl Streep | Sophie's Choice | Zofia "Sophie" Zawistowski |
| 1984 (38th) | Maggie Smith | A Private Function | Joyce Chilvers |
| 1984 (38th) | Shirley MacLaine | Terms of Endearment | Aurora Greenaway |
| 1984 (38th) | Helen Mirren | Cal | Marcella |
| 1984 (38th) | Meryl Streep | Silkwood | Karen Silkwood |
| 1985 (39th) | Peggy Ashcroft | A Passage to India | Mrs. Moore |
| 1985 (39th) | Mia Farrow | The Purple Rose of Cairo | Cecilia |
| 1985 (39th) | Kelly McGillis | Witness | Rachel Lapp |
| 1985 (39th) | Alexandra Pigg | Letter to Brezhnev | Elaine |
| 1986 (40th) | Maggie Smith | A Room with a View | Charlotte Bartlett |
| 1986 (40th) | Mia Farrow | Hannah and Her Sisters | Hannah |
| 1986 (40th) | Meryl Streep | Out of Africa | Karen Blixen |
| 1986 (40th) | Cathy Tyson | Mona Lisa | Simone |
| 1987 (41st) | Anne Bancroft | 84 Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff |
| 1987 (41st) | Emily Lloyd | Wish You Were Here | Lynda Mansell |
| 1987 (41st) | Sarah Miles | Hope and Glory | Grace Rowan |
| 1987 (41st) | Julie Walters | Personal Services | Christine Painter |
| 1988 (42nd) | Maggie Smith | The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne | Judith Hearne |
| 1988 (42nd) | Stéphane Audran | Babette's Feast | Babette Hersant |
| 1988 (42nd) | Cher | Moonstruck | Loretta Castorini |
| 1988 (42nd) | Jamie Lee Curtis | A Fish Called Wanda | Wanda Gershwitz |
| 1989 (43rd) | Pauline Collins | Shirley Valentine | Shirley Valentine |
| 1989 (43rd) | Glenn Close | Dangerous Liaisons | Marquise de Merteuil |
| 1989 (43rd) | Jodie Foster | The Accused | Sarah Tobias |
| 1989 (43rd) | Melanie Griffith | Working Girl | Tess McGill |

### 1990s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 1990 (44th) | Jessica Tandy | Driving Miss Daisy | Daisy Werthan |
| 1990 (44th) | Shirley MacLaine | Postcards from the Edge | Doris Mann |
| 1990 (44th) | Michelle Pfeiffer | The Fabulous Baker Boys | Susie Diamond |
| 1990 (44th) | Julia Roberts | Pretty Woman | Vivian Ward |
| 1991 (45th) | Jodie Foster | The Silence of the Lambs | Clarice Starling |
| 1991 (45th) | Geena Davis | Thelma & Louise | Thelma Dickinson |
| 1991 (45th) | Susan Sarandon | Thelma & Louise | Louise Sawyer |
| 1991 (45th) | Juliet Stevenson | Truly, Madly, Deeply | Nina |
| 1992 (46th) | Emma Thompson | Howards End | Margaret Schlegel |
| 1992 (46th) | Judy Davis | Husbands and Wives | Sally Simmons |
| 1992 (46th) | Tara Morice | Strictly Ballroom | Fran |
| 1992 (46th) | Jessica Tandy | Fried Green Tomatoes | Ninny Threadgoode |
| 1993 (47th) | Holly Hunter | The Piano | Ada McGrath |
| 1993 (47th) | Miranda Richardson | Tom & Viv | Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot |
| 1993 (47th) | Emma Thompson | The Remains of the Day | Sarah Kenton |
| 1993 (47th) | Debra Winger | Shadowlands | Joy Davidman Gresham |
| 1994 (48th) | Susan Sarandon | The Client | Regina "Reggie" Love |
| 1994 (48th) | Linda Fiorentino | The Last Seduction | Bridget Gregory |
| 1994 (48th) | Irène Jacob | Three Colours: Red | Valentine Dussaut |
| 1994 (48th) | Uma Thurman | Pulp Fiction | Mia Wallace |
| 1995 (49th) | Emma Thompson | Sense and Sensibility | Elinor Dashwood |
| 1995 (49th) | Nicole Kidman | To Die For | Suzanne Stone-Maretto |
| 1995 (49th) | Helen Mirren | The Madness of King George | Queen Charlotte |
| 1995 (49th) | Elisabeth Shue | Leaving Las Vegas | Sera |
| 1996 (50th) | Brenda Blethyn | Secrets & Lies | Cynthia Purley |
| 1996 (50th) | Frances McDormand | Fargo | Marge Gunderson |
| 1996 (50th) | Kristin Scott Thomas | The English Patient | Katharine Clifton |
| 1996 (50th) | Emily Watson | Breaking the Waves | Bess McNeill |
| 1997 (51st) | Judi Dench | Mrs Brown | Queen Victoria |
| 1997 (51st) | Kim Basinger | L.A. Confidential | Lynn Bracken |
| 1997 (51st) | Helena Bonham Carter | The Wings of the Dove | Kate Croy |
| 1997 (51st) | Kathy Burke | Nil by Mouth | Valerie |
| 1998 (52nd) | Cate Blanchett | Elizabeth | Queen Elizabeth I |
| 1998 (52nd) | Jane Horrocks | Little Voice | Laurie Hoff / Little Voice "LV" |
| 1998 (52nd) | Gwyneth Paltrow | Shakespeare in Love | Viola de Lesseps |
| 1998 (52nd) | Emily Watson | Hilary and Jackie | Jacqueline du Pré |
| 1999 (53rd) | Annette Bening | American Beauty | Carolyn Burnham |
| 1999 (53rd) | Linda Bassett | East Is East | Ella Khan |
| 1999 (53rd) | Julianne Moore | The End of the Affair | Sarah Miles |
| 1999 (53rd) | Emily Watson | Angela's Ashes | Angela Sheehan McCourt |

### 2000s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 2000 (54th) | Julia Roberts | Erin Brockovich | Erin Brockovich |
| 2000 (54th) | Juliette Binoche | Chocolat | Vivianne Rocher |
| 2000 (54th) | Kate Hudson | Almost Famous | Penny Lane |
| 2000 (54th) | Hilary Swank | Boys Don't Cry | Brandon Teena |
| 2000 (54th) | Michelle Yeoh | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Yu Shu Lien |
| 2001 (55th) | Judi Dench | Iris | Iris Murdoch |
| 2001 (55th) | Nicole Kidman | The Others | Grace Stewart |
| 2001 (55th) | Sissy Spacek | In the Bedroom | Ruth Fowler |
| 2001 (55th) | Audrey Tautou | Amélie | Amélie Poulain |
| 2001 (55th) | Renée Zellweger | Bridget Jones's Diary | Bridget Jones |
| 2002 (56th) | Nicole Kidman | The Hours | Virginia Woolf |
| 2002 (56th) | Halle Berry | Monster's Ball | Leticia Musgrove |
| 2002 (56th) | Salma Hayek | Frida | Frida Kahlo |
| 2002 (56th) | Meryl Streep | The Hours | Clarissa Vaughan |
| 2002 (56th) | Renée Zellweger | Chicago | Roxie Hart |
| 2003 (57th) | Scarlett Johansson | Lost in Translation | Charlotte |
| 2003 (57th) | Scarlett Johansson | Girl with a Pearl Earring | Griet |
| 2003 (57th) | Anne Reid | The Mother | May |
| 2003 (57th) | Uma Thurman | Kill Bill: Volume 1 | Beatrix Kiddo |
| 2003 (57th) | Naomi Watts | 21 Grams | Cristina Peck |
| 2004 (58th) | Imelda Staunton | Vera Drake | Vera Drake |
| 2004 (58th) | Charlize Theron | Monster | Aileen Wuornos |
| 2004 (58th) | Kate Winslet | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Clementine Kruczynski |
| 2004 (58th) | Kate Winslet | Finding Neverland | Sylvia Llewelyn Davies |
| 2004 (58th) | Zhang Ziyi | House of Flying Daggers | Mei |
| 2005 (59th) | Reese Witherspoon | Walk the Line | June Carter Cash |
| 2005 (59th) | Judi Dench | Mrs Henderson Presents | Laura Henderson |
| 2005 (59th) | Charlize Theron | North Country | Josey Aimes |
| 2005 (59th) | Rachel Weisz | The Constant Gardener | Tessa Abbott-Quayle |
| 2005 (59th) | Zhang Ziyi | Memoirs of a Geisha | Chiyo Sakamoto / Sayuri Nitta |
| 2006 (60th) | Helen Mirren | The Queen | Queen Elizabeth II |
| 2006 (60th) | Penélope Cruz | Volver | Raimunda |
| 2006 (60th) | Judi Dench | Notes on a Scandal | Barbara Covett |
| 2006 (60th) | Meryl Streep | The Devil Wears Prada | Miranda Priestly |
| 2006 (60th) | Kate Winslet | Little Children | Sarah Pierce |
| 2007 (61st) | Marion Cotillard | La Vie en Rose | Édith Piaf |
| 2007 (61st) | Cate Blanchett | Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Queen Elizabeth I |
| 2007 (61st) | Julie Christie | Away from Her | Fiona Anderson |
| 2007 (61st) | Keira Knightley | Atonement | Cecilia Tallis |
| 2007 (61st) | Elliot Page | Juno | Juno MacGuff |
| 2008 (62nd) | Kate Winslet | The Reader | Hanna Schmitz |
| 2008 (62nd) | Angelina Jolie | Changeling | Christine Collins |
| 2008 (62nd) | Kristin Scott Thomas | I've Loved You So Long | Juliette Fontaine |
| 2008 (62nd) | Meryl Streep | Doubt | Sister Aloysius Beauvier |
| 2008 (62nd) | Kate Winslet | Revolutionary Road | April Wheeler |
| 2009 (63rd) | Carey Mulligan | An Education | Jenny Mellor |
| 2009 (63rd) | Saoirse Ronan | The Lovely Bones | Susie Salmon |
| 2009 (63rd) | Gabourey Sidibe | Precious | Claireece "Precious" Jones |
| 2009 (63rd) | Meryl Streep | Julie & Julia | Julia Child |
| 2009 (63rd) | Audrey Tautou | Coco Before Chanel | Coco Chanel |

### 2010s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 2010 (64th) | Natalie Portman | Black Swan | Nina Sayers |
| 2010 (64th) | Annette Bening | The Kids Are All Right | Dr. Nicole "Nic" Allgood |
| 2010 (64th) | Julianne Moore | The Kids Are All Right | Jules Allgood |
| 2010 (64th) | Noomi Rapace | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Lisbeth Salander |
| 2010 (64th) | Hailee Steinfeld | True Grit | Mattie Ross |
| 2011 (65th) | Meryl Streep | The Iron Lady | Margaret Thatcher |
| 2011 (65th) | Bérénice Bejo | The Artist | Peppy Miller |
| 2011 (65th) | Viola Davis | The Help | Aibleen Clark |
| 2011 (65th) | Tilda Swinton | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Eva Khatchadourian |
| 2011 (65th) | Michelle Williams | My Week with Marilyn | Marilyn Monroe |
| 2012 (66th) | Emmanuelle Riva | Amour | Anne Laurent |
| 2012 (66th) | Jessica Chastain | Zero Dark Thirty | Maya Harris |
| 2012 (66th) | Marion Cotillard | Rust and Bone | Stéphanie |
| 2012 (66th) | Jennifer Lawrence | Silver Linings Playbook | Tiffany Maxwell |
| 2012 (66th) | Helen Mirren | Hitchcock | Alma Reville Hitchcock |
| 2013 (67th) | Cate Blanchett | Blue Jasmine | Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis |
| 2013 (67th) | Amy Adams | American Hustle | Sydney Prosser / Lady Edith Greensly |
| 2013 (67th) | Sandra Bullock | Gravity | Dr. Ryan Stone |
| 2013 (67th) | Judi Dench | Philomena | Philomena Lee |
| 2013 (67th) | Emma Thompson | Saving Mr. Banks | P. L. Travers |
| 2014 (68th) | Julianne Moore | Still Alice | Dr. Alice Howland |
| 2014 (68th) | Amy Adams | Big Eyes | Margaret Keane |
| 2014 (68th) | Felicity Jones | The Theory of Everything | Jane Wilde Hawking |
| 2014 (68th) | Rosamund Pike | Gone Girl | Amy Elliott-Dunne |
| 2014 (68th) | Reese Witherspoon | Wild | Cheryl Strayed |
| 2015 (69th) | Brie Larson | Room | Joy "Ma" Newsome |
| 2015 (69th) | Cate Blanchett | Carol | Carol Aird |
| 2015 (69th) | Saoirse Ronan | Brooklyn | Eilis Lacey |
| 2015 (69th) | Maggie Smith | The Lady in the Van | Mary Shepherd / Margaret Fairchild |
| 2015 (69th) | Alicia Vikander | The Danish Girl | Gerda Wegener |
| 2016 (70th) | Emma Stone | La La Land | Mia Dolan |
| 2016 (70th) | Amy Adams | Arrival | Dr. Louise Banks |
| 2016 (70th) | Emily Blunt | The Girl on the Train | Rachel Watson |
| 2016 (70th) | Natalie Portman | Jackie | Jackie Kennedy |
| 2016 (70th) | Meryl Streep | Florence Foster Jenkins | Florence Foster Jenkins |
| 2017 (71st) | Frances McDormand | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Mildred Hayes |
| 2017 (71st) | Annette Bening | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | Gloria Grahame |
| 2017 (71st) | Sally Hawkins | The Shape of Water | Elisa Esposito |
| 2017 (71st) | Margot Robbie | I, Tonya | Tonya Harding |
| 2017 (71st) | Saoirse Ronan | Lady Bird | Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson |
| 2018 (72nd) | Olivia Colman | The Favourite | Queen Anne |
| 2018 (72nd) | Glenn Close | The Wife | Joan Castleman |
| 2018 (72nd) | Viola Davis | Widows | Veronica Rawlings |
| 2018 (72nd) | Lady Gaga | A Star Is Born | Ally Maine |
| 2018 (72nd) | Melissa McCarthy | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Lee Israel |
| 2019 (73rd) | Renée Zellweger | Judy | Judy Garland |
| 2019 (73rd) | Jessie Buckley | Wild Rose | Rose-Lynn Harlan |
| 2019 (73rd) | Scarlett Johansson | Marriage Story | Nicole Barber |
| 2019 (73rd) | Saoirse Ronan | Little Women | Josephine "Jo" March |
| 2019 (73rd) | Charlize Theron | Bombshell | Megyn Kelly |

### 2020s

| Year | Actress | Film | Character |
| 2020 (74th) | Frances McDormand | Nomadland | Fern |
| 2020 (74th) | Bukky Bakray | Rocks | Olushola "Rocks" Omotoso |
| 2020 (74th) | Radha Blank | The Forty-Year-Old Version | Radha Blank |
| 2020 (74th) | Vanessa Kirby | Pieces of a Woman | Martha Weiss |
| 2020 (74th) | Wunmi Mosaku | His House | Rial Majur |
| 2020 (74th) | Alfre Woodard | Clemency | Bernardine Williams |
| 2021 (75th) | Joanna Scanlan | After Love | Mary Hussain |
| 2021 (75th) | Lady Gaga | House of Gucci | Patrizia Reggiani |
| 2021 (75th) | Alana Haim | Licorice Pizza | Alana Kane |
| 2021 (75th) | Emilia Jones | CODA | Ruby Rossi |
| 2021 (75th) | Renate Reinsve | The Worst Person in the World | Julie |
| 2021 (75th) | Tessa Thompson | Passing | Irene Redfield |
| 2022 (76th) | Cate Blanchett | Tár | Lydia Tár |
| 2022 (76th) | Viola Davis | The Woman King | General Nanisca |
| 2022 (76th) | Ana de Armas | Blonde | Marilyn Monroe |
| 2022 (76th) | Danielle Deadwyler | Till | Mamie Till |
| 2022 (76th) | Emma Thompson | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nancy Stokes / Susan Robinson |
| 2022 (76th) | Michelle Yeoh | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Evelyn Quan Wang |
| 2023 (77th) | Emma Stone | Poor Things | Bella Baxter |
| 2023 (77th) | Fantasia Barrino | The Color Purple | Celie Harris-Johnson |
| 2023 (77th) | Sandra Huller | Anatomy of a Fall | Sandra Voyter |
| 2023 (77th) | Carey Mulligan | Maestro | Felicia Montealegre |
| 2023 (77th) | Vivian Oparah | Rye Lane | Yas |
| 2023 (77th) | Margot Robbie | Barbie | Barbie |
| 2024 (78th) | Mikey Madison | Anora | Anora "Ani" Mikheeva |
| 2024 (78th) | Cynthia Erivo | Wicked | Elphaba Thropp |
| 2024 (78th) | Karla Sofía Gascón | Emilia Pérez | Juan "Manitas" Del Monte / Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 (78th) | Marianne Jean-Baptiste | Hard Truths | Pansy Deacon |
| 2024 (78th) | Demi Moore | The Substance | Elisabeth Sparkle |
| 2024 (78th) | Saoirse Ronan | The Outrun | Rona |

## Superlatives

| Superlative | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Best Supporting Actress | Best Supporting Actress | Overall (including Most Promising Newcomer) | Overall (including Most Promising Newcomer) |
| Actress with most awards | Maggie Smith | 4 | Judi Dench | 3 | Judi Dench | 6 |
| Actress with most British Actress Awards (until 1967) | Audrey Hepburn | 3 | — | — | Audrey Hepburn | 3 |
| Actress with most Foreign Actress Awards (until 1967) | Simone Signoret | 3 | — | — | Simone Signoret | 3 |
| Actress with most nominations | Meryl Streep | 12 | Judi Dench | 9 | Judi Dench Meryl Streep | 15 |
| Actress with most British Actress Award nominations (until 1967) | Audrey Hepburn | 5 | — | — | Audrey Hepburn | 5 |
| Actress with most Foreign Actress Award nominations (until 1967) | Simone Signoret | 6 | — | — | Simone Signoret | 6 |

## Multiple nominations
### 12 nominations

* Meryl Streep

### 8 nominations

* Maggie Smith

### 7 nominations

* Anne Bancroft
* Shirley MacLaine

### 6 nominations

* Julie Christie
* Jane Fonda
* Simone Signoret

### 5 nominations

* Cate Blanchett
* Judi Dench
* Audrey Hepburn
* Katharine Hepburn
* Saoirse Ronan
* Emma Thompson
* Kate Winslet

### 4 nominations

* Deborah Kerr
* Helen Mirren
* Joanne Woodward

### 3 nominations

* Amy Adams
* Stéphane Audran
* Annette Bening
* Viola Davis
* Edith Evans
* Mia Farrow
* Ava Gardner
* Glenda Jackson
* Scarlett Johansson
* Diane Keaton
* Nicole Kidman
* Frances McDormand
* Sarah Miles
* Julianne Moore
* Sissy Spacek
* Elizabeth Taylor
* Charlize Theron
* Emily Watson
* Renée Zellweger

### 2 nominations

* Anouk Aimée
* Peggy Ashcroft
* Leslie Caron
* Glenn Close
* Marion Cotillard
* Judy Davis
* Faye Dunaway
* Jodie Foster
* Lady Gaga
* Susan Hayward
* Judy Holliday
* Celia Johnson
* Grace Kelly
* Anna Magnani
* Giulietta Masina
* Virginia McKenna
* Melina Mercouri
* Hayley Mills
* Yvonne Mitchell
* Marilyn Monroe
* Jeanne Moreau
* Carey Mulligan
* Patricia Neal
* Natalie Portman
* Emmanuelle Riva
* Margot Robbie
* Julia Roberts
* Rachel Roberts
* Susan Sarandon
* Maria Schell
* Kristin Scott Thomas
* Jean Simmons
* Emma Stone
* Barbra Streisand
* Sylvia Syms
* Jessica Tandy
* Audrey Tautou
* Uma Thurman
* Rita Tushingham
* Liv Ullmann
* Julie Walters
* Reese Witherspoon
* Michelle Yeoh
* Ziyi Zhang