BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

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.
Winners and nominees
Best British Actress (1952–1967)
Best Foreign Actress (1952–1967)
Best Actress in a Leading Role (1968–present)
1968–1979
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Note: Between 1964 and 1973, several actresses were nominated for multiple performances in a single year, these each count as one nomination. Scarlett Johansson's two mentions in 2003 count as two separate nominations. The two mentions received by Kate Winslet in both 2004 and 2008 count as two separate nominations each time.
Note: The 2013 ceremony was the first time in the history of BAFTA that two French actresses were nominated for French-language performances in this category: Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Emmanuelle Riva for Amour; the latter won.
Superlatives
Note: Meryl Streep and Judi Dench tie for the record of a total of 15 BAFTA Film nominations, with Streep having 12 Best Actress nominations and 3 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench has 5 Best Actress nominations and 9 Best Supporting Actress nominations. Dench's 15th nomination is for Best Newcomer in 1966 (which she won). This gives her 6 BAFTA Film wins. In addition, she has won 4 BAFTA TV awards (from 12 nominations). In total, she has received 27 BAFTA Film & TV nominations with 10 wins. In 2001, Dench also received an honorary BAFTA: The BAFTA Fellowship.
Note: Maggie Smith has a total of 13 BAFTA Film nominations, for Best Actress (8), Best Supporting Actress (4) and Best Newcomer (1), winning 5. She also has 5 BAFTA TV nominations. This gives her a total of 18 BAFTA Film and TV nominations. In addition, Smith has received two honorary awards: The BAFTA Special Award (1993) and BAFTA Fellowship (1996).
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
Emma Thompson
Kate Winslet
4 nominations
Deborah Kerr
Helen Mirren
Saoirse Ronan
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
Julie Andrews
Peggy Ashcroft
Leslie Caron
Glenn Close
Marion Cotillard
Judy Davis
Faye Dunaway
Jodie Foster
Lady Gaga
Goldie Hawn
Susan Hayward
Judy Holliday
Celia Johnson
Grace Kelly
Anna Magnani
Giulietta Masina
Virginia McKenna
Melina Mercouri
Hayley Mills
Yvonne Mitchell
Marilyn Monroe
Jeanne Moreau
Patricia Neal
Natalie Portman
Emmanuelle Riva
Julia Roberts
Rachel Roberts
Susan Sarandon
Maria Schell
Kristin Scott Thomas
Jean Simmons
Barbra Streisand
Sylvia Syms
Jessica Tandy
Audrey Tautou
Uma Thurman
Rita Tushingham
Liv Ullmann
Julie Walters
Reese Witherspoon
Michelle Yeoh
Ziyi Zhang
Multiple wins
4 wins
Maggie Smith
3 wins
Anne Bancroft
Cate Blanchett
Audrey Hepburn
Simone Signoret
2 wins
Leslie Caron
Judi Dench
Jane Fonda
Katharine Hepburn
Shirley MacLaine
Frances McDormand
Patricia Neal
Rachel Roberts
Meryl Streep
Emma Thompson
See also
Academy Award for Best Actress
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
References
External links
BAFTA Awards Database
British Academy Film Awards
Film awards for lead actress